Sustainable Viticulture for Climate Change Adaptation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Viticulture is one of the most intensive forms of agricultural land use. It will be strongly affected by climate change impacts in the near future. These impacts, including an increase in periods of drought in summer, a higher soil erosion risk due to short heavy rainfalls, and the invasion of new pests, need innovative solutions. It is expected that an ecosystem-based approach, based on a considerable increase in biodiversity and improved vineyard management, will enhance the ability of the vineyard ecosystem to buffer natural extremes and make the system more resilient to climate change. Positive effects of increased biodiversity on vines and ecosystem services are apparent, but have not yet been transferred into viticulture practice.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the LIFE VineAdapt project is to increase native biodiversity in vineyards to maximise related ecosystem services regarding pest control, soil biota, humification (soil organic content), erosion protection, water retention, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Eight partners from Austria, France, Germany and Hungary will combine existing knowledge to demonstrate resource-saving and climate-adapted vineyard management practices. Demonstration and pilot actions will evaluate, optimise and disseminate biodiversity management methods based on an ecosystem-based approach for vineyards on a transnational level, adopting them into wider practice.

Resource-saving methods to be implemented for stress reduction of vine plants caused by climate change include resource-efficient fertilization and demand-orientated drip irrigation. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by decreasing fertilizer input and fewer machine (e.g. tractor) operations. In changing the usual management practice of understory vegetation in non-organic vineyards, pesticides like glyphosate will be substituted.

The project specifically addresses the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change.

RESULTS

Expected results: 31 biodiversity vineyards with a total area of c. 50 ha will be changed to climate-adapted vineyards covering a broad geographic and climatic scale, enabling the transferability of project results to other wine growing regions and countries. The establishment of natural vegetation in vineyards under different geographic and climatic conditions shown to be feasible and to have positive biotic and abiotic effects:

150% increase in plant species number, 150% increase of pollen and nectar plants and a 150% increase in wild bee abundance;

100% increase of specific pest antagonists (predators, parasites, pathogens) and 100% higher pest larvae predation;

10% decrease of soil erosion;

10% increase in soil fertility;

10% increase in soil structure and water holding capacity; and

5% higher humification.

In establishing a resource-efficient and biodiversity-friendly management in vineyards, we expect at least:

15% lower fertiliser demand; and

5% better CO2 balance.