Ethylenediurea (EDU) is a synthetic chemical known to protect plants from the phytotoxic effects of tropospheric ozone (O3). Although many studies have proposed the use of EDU for studying the O3 effects under field conditions, its mechanism of action is not fully understood, and it is unclear whether it exerts a specific antiozonant action, or if it may also interact with other oxidative stresses.
Rising temperature, drought and more-frequent extreme climatic events have been predicted for the next decades in many regions around the globe. In this framework, soil water availability plays a pivotal role in affecting vegetation productivity, especially in arid or semi-arid environments. However, direct measurements of soil moisture are scarce, and modeling estimations are still subject to biases. Further investigation on the effect of soil moisture on plant productivity is required.
Drought events are currently increasing in frequency and intensity all over the world as effect of climate change. One of the most related environmental issue is water resource scarcity, which is now becoming an emergency also for several industrialized countries in the Mediterranean area. In the summer of 2017, all Italian territory suffered from an extreme drought event that caused huge depletions of both groundwater and surface water availability.
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