Development of a Management Tool to Indicate the Environmental Impact of Organic Viticulture

Abstract

Organic viticulture is an important part of the European Union organic farming sector, and, according to the most recent surveys, 1.5% of European Union wine originates from organic farms, with an upward trend. This paper describes an environmental impact of an organic viticulture indicator (EIOVI) that can be reliably used in the management of organic vineyards. The EIOVI can be used as a decision support system for farmers and other property managers by evaluating the potential ecological impact of their choices, thus optimizing management options. The tool allows the simulation of vineyard management based on six agricultural and ecological modules. The EIOVI is a fuzzy expert system that calculates the relationship between the modules on the basis of a set of 64 decision rules. Initial testing (validation) has been performed using 20 simulations for six Swiss wine-growing estates. The results of these tests were promising; the EIOVI motivates managers to consider the wine-growing estate as a whole by subsummarizing all aspects of management. The visualization of results is very tangible and clearly shows that the use of this indicator could improve the management of the vineyard. With some improvements, the EIOVI will be a helpful assessment tool for vine growers, consultants, environmental agencies, and scientists.

Yeast diversity on grapes from Galicia, NW Spain: biogeographical patterns and the influence of the farming system

“…Organic viticulture is increasingly popular around the world because organic practices are more respectful to the environment and health (Azabagaoglus et al, 2007;Fragoulis et al, 2009;Mariani and Vastola, 2015). Spain is the largest organic vineyard in the world with the greatest growth during the last decade (European Commission, 2016;Willer and Lernoud, 2017).…”

Physicochemical composition, minerals, and pesticide residues in organic grape juices

“…The international bibliography concerning the production of organic grapes covers different aspects of this field, such as those related to a) minimize the use and effect of copper application (Dagostin et al, 2011); b) search alternative products for different diseases (Crisp et al, 2006); c) control nematodes (Coll et al, 2012); d) fertilization and mineral nutrition (Coll et al, 2011); e) the impact and evaluation of the organic viticulture (Reeve et al, 2005;Fragoulis et al, 2009). Serra Gaúcha, the most important Brazilian viticultural region was also influenced by this scientific and technological development with the use of different agricultural inputs − such as fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, growth regulators, fertilizers −, and enological -such as yeasts, enzymes, stabilizers, antioxidants.…”

Natural process and use of natural matters in organic viticulture

“…The main sources of improvement and preservation of the soil fertility are: maintain or improve the contents of the organic matter/humus, increase the population and the activity of microorganisms through a good balance of microflora and fauna of the soil, maintain the stability of the aggregates of the soil structure, maintain the soil covered (occasionally or continuously) with plants in view of reducing erosion, enable the application of mechanisation and avoid the compression of the soil, enrich the soil with (macro and micro) nutrients (Hofmann et al, 1995;Boller et al, 1997;Bugg and Waddington, 1993). Organic viticulture and most of its techniques have a lot of novelties that may be applied in the conventional production (Fragoulis et al, 2009). In the first place it is the nutrition of the grapevine.…”