<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aims</strong>: Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), this study aims to compare the environmental impacts of two different viticultural technical management routes (TMRs); integrated and organic) and to identify the operations that contribute the most to the impacts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: LCA impact scores were expressed in two functional units: 1 ha of cultivated area and 1 kg of collected grape. We studied all operations from field preparation before planting to the end-of-life of the vine. Inputs and outputs were transformed into potential environmental impacts thanks to SALCA™ (V1.02) and USETox™ (V1.03) methods. Plant protection treatments were a major cause of impact for both TMRs for fuel-related impact categories. For both TMRs, the main contributors to natural resource depletion and freshwater ecotoxicity were trellis system installation and background heavy metal emissions, respectively.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: This study shows that the studied organic TMR has higher impact scores than the integrated TMR for all the chosen impact categories except eutrophication. However, the chosen TMRs are only typical of integrated and organic viticulture in Loire Valley and some emission models (heavy metal, fuel-related emissions, and nitrogen emissions) have to be improved in order to better assess the environmental impacts of viticulture. Soil quality should also be integrated to LCA results in viticulture because this lack may be a disadvantage for organic viticulture.</p><strong>Significance and impact of study</strong>: This study is among the first to compare LCA results of an integrated and an organic TMR.
Greater use of life cycle assessment (LCA) by agents of change will be needed to inform environmental improvements in agriculture, but the complexity of LCA can be a barrier. More accessible LCA tools customised for agriculture are emerging, but their effectiveness has not been considered. The aim of the work was to understand how tool features influence effectiveness and to propose criteria for effectiveness, for informing the design and evaluation of tools. We define 'customised' tools as those that focus on the life cycle phases and aspects of most relevance for the particular sector (in this case agriculture), and that parameterise practice variables to enable evaluation of practice alternatives. A theoretical framework for the role of tools in agricultural practice change was first used to define the desired objectives of LCA tools: i) to engage agricultural agents of change with LCA by catering to their needs, being accessible and manageable to use, ii) to generate information that users can interpret for informing environmental improvements, and iii) generate information that can align with the wider decision making context.A desktop review of 14 LCA customised agriculture tools identified the features that influence these objectives: tool purpose, mode of access, ease of use, results presentation, degree of practice parameterisation, capacity for regionalised analysis, system scope, impact categories assessed, and alignment with other assessment frameworks. From this, a set of effectiveness criteria for customised LCA tools was developed. A few criteria from amongst this set will be challenges for ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 future tool development: the balance between analysis capacity and ease of use, enabling regionalised analysis, and the presentation of results in a way that aids interpretation for informing environmental improvements.
HighlightsCustomised agricultural LCA tools make LCA more accessible to agents of change Effectiveness criteria proposed for guiding development and evaluating effectiveness Key criterion and challenge is the balance between analysis capacity with ease of use Capacity for regionalisation of inventories and impact assessment is a valuable feature Further research needed on how results presentation influences interpretation
Aims. The present study aims to model grape quality criteria by combining a large number of viticultural practices and soil and climate variables related to the main determinants.Methods and results. A database has been developed using the Chenin Blanc grape variety in a Protected Designation of Origin. A statistical model, namely a Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression, has been determined for each grape quality criterion (sugar content, total acidity, malic acid, tartaric acid, available nitrogen, pH and bunch rot). This statistical analysis identifies the main viticultural practices and soil and climate variables related to the grape quality at harvest. The results highlight relationships between the length of vine pruning and pH and malic acid but even more significant relationships with tartaric acid, available nitrogen and bunch rot.Conclusion. The models point out the most relevant viticultural practices and soil and climate variables for the explanation of each grape quality criterion studied.Significance and impact of the study. The results provide a better understanding of the major variables that influence grape quality.
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