The Middle East, the cradle of viticulture and wine production, is gradually but steadily becoming hotter and drier because of climate change (CC). In the current study, we evaluated the effect of tillage and irrigation on yield and quality characteristics of the heat-resistant, indigenous red-grape variety Maratheftiko for one year. Yield increased (two-fold) in vines with irrigation and tillage compared to tillage with no irrigation. The absence of tillage buffered the negative effect of the lack of irrigation on yield. At the veraison stage, leaf stomatal conductance decreased in non-irrigated vines, independently of the application of tillage or not. At veraison, tillage increased (up to 27.5%) phenolics when compared to no tillage in non-irrigated vines. Vines accumulated more N, P, and K and less Mg during the flowering stage compared to veraison. At veraison, irrigation decreased K content in vines subjected to tillage and decreased Mg content in vines subjected to no tillage. Total soluble solids and anthocyanins of berries increased with the absence of irrigation and tillage. Total phenolics increased with tillage in both irrigated and non-irrigated plants. Our results indicate that no tillage systems may be viable as an adaptation strategy in the context of CC.

We present for the first time the environmental footprint (EF) of grapes following the methodology proposed by the EU and life cycle assessment (LCA). We used data from three different production systems, conventional high- or low-input and organic from vineyards on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The life cycle inventory (LCI) data were retrieved from the recently released AGRIBALYSE database, and the EF was determined with the Open LCA software. The system boundary was from “cradle to winery door” and the functional unit was 1 ton of grapes delivered to the winery. Organic grape production had the lowest values for most of the 16 EF impact categories. Machinery, fuel, and sulfur production and use were identified as EF hotspots for organic grapes. Fertilizer production and use were identified as EF hotspots for high-input grape production. The EF impact category values for low-input grapes showed similarities with organic production. Future research needs to enrich the LCI databases with data more applicable to the methods and inputs applied in Mediterranean agriculture.

No abstract

Biodiversity monitoring plays an essential role in tracking changes in ecosystems, species distributions and abundances across the globe. Data collected through both structured and unstructured biodiversity recording can inform conservation measures designed to reduce, prevent, and reverse declines in valued biodiversity of many types. However, given that resources for biodiversity monitoring are limited, it is important that funding bodies prioritise investments relative to the requirements in any given region. We addressed this prioritisation requirement for a biodiverse Mediterranean island (Cyprus) using a three-stage process of expert-elicitation. This resulted in a structured list of twenty biodiversity monitoring needs; specifically, a hierarchy of three groups of these needs was created using a consensus approach. The most highly prioritised biodiversity monitoring needs were those related to the development of robust survey methodologies, and those ensuring that sufficiently skilled citizens are available to contribute. We discuss ways that the results of our expert-elicitation process could be used to support current and future biodiversity monitoring in Cyprus.

Biodiversity monitoring plays an essential role in tracking changes in ecosystems, species distributions and abundances across the globe. Data collected through both structured and unstructured biodiversity recording can inform conservation measures designed to reduce, prevent, and reverse declines in valued biodiversity of many types. However, resources for biodiversity monitoring are limited, it is therefore important that funding bodies prioritise actions relative to the requirements in any given region. We addressed this prioritisation requirement through a three-stage process of expert-elicitation, resulting in a prioritised list of twenty biodiversity monitoring needs for Cyprus. Equal priority was assigned to the twenty monitoring needs within three categories: a top nine, a middle five, and a bottom six. The most highly prioritised biodiversity monitoring needs were those related to the development of robust methodologies, and those ensuring a geographic spread of sufficiently skilled and informed contributors. We suggest ways that the results of our expert-elicitation process could be used to support current and future biodiversity monitoring in Cyprus.