Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Landscape study of the Suzette rural district. A vineyard in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail

Landscape study of the Suzette rural district. A vineyard in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail

Abstract

[English version below]

Le territoire de Suzette se développe sur un grand coteau viticole et boisé situé au cœur du site naturel des Dentelles de Montmirail (40km au nord d’Avignon). Ce site est à la fois l’un des pôles d’attraction touristique du département et le lieu d’une production viticole renommée (Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes de Venise, … ). Cet ensemble remarquable de terrasses viticoles et de crêtes rocheuses et boisées, forme un des paysages emblématiques du Vaucluse. La commune est actuellement soumise à une importante pression foncière due à une forte demande résidentielle. Le paysage du coteau forme et possède de ce fait un patrimoine culturel de valeur et une image de marque importante pour la production viticole locale. Ce paysage, assez exceptionnel pourrait cependant se transformer sous l’effet d’une urbanisation mal maîtrisée. L’objectif de l’étude est donc d’alimenter la réflexion sur la politique urbaine à mener pour assurer la préservation de ce paysage. L’étude présente les éléments qui structurent le site, évalue les différentes zones de sensibilité et propose des recommandations pour un développement harmonieux du village dans le cadre d’une mise en valeur de l’ensemble. Cette présentation est suivie par une réflexion sur l’évolution du paysage liée au développement de la viticulture sur la commune et sur les rapports entre production viticole et protection/ valorisation des coteaux où cette production est assurée.

The area of the village Suzette expands on a wine producing and wooded hillside, located in the heart of the natural site of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The site of the Dentelles is a touristic center of attraction of the department, and is renowned for its local wine producing (Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes de Venise, … ). This unity, notable for its vine terraces and its rocky and wooded ridges, composes one of the emblematic landscapes of Vaucluse. This site is presently under a land pressure for residential building. The landscape of the hill of Suzette is a valuable cultural heritage and a brand image for the local wine production. This quite exceptional landscape could be transformed by an uncontrolled urbanization. The purpose of this study is to feed thought on the urban politic to lead on the area of Suzette to preserve and highlight the landscapes heritage. This study presents the structuring elements of the landscaped hillside, appraises the different areas of sensibility and proposes recommendations for an harmonious development of the village in the context of the highlight of the whole landscape hillside. The presentation of the study is followed by a reflexion about the wine growing development on the area and links between wine producing and highlight of the landscape.

DOI:

Publication date: February 15, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

Thomas KLEITZ

CA UE de Vaucluse 4, rue Petite Calade- 84000 Avignon

Contact the author

Keywords

Coteau viticole, site, pression foncière, protection et mise en valeur du paysage
Wine hill, land pressure, preservation and highlight of the landscape

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

Legacy of land-cover changes on soil erosion and microbiology in Burgundian vineyards

Soils in vineyards are recognized as complex agrosystems whose characteristics reflect complex interactions between natural factors (lithology, climate, slope, biodiversity) and human activities. To date, most of the unknown lies in an incomplete understanding of soil ecosystems, and specifically in the microbial biodiversity even though soil microbiota is involved in many key functions, such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Soil biological properties are indicative of soil quality. Therefore, understanding how soil communities are related to soil ecosystem functioning is becoming an essential issue for soil strategy conservation. Here, we propose to assess the importance of land-cover history on the present-day microbiological and physico-chemical properties. The studied area was selected in the Burgundian vineyards (Pernand-Vergelesses, Burgundy, France) where land occupation has been reconstructed over the last 40 years. Soil samples were collected in five areas reflecting various land cover history (forest, vineyards, shifting from forest to vineyards). For each area, physico-chemical parameters (pH, C, N, P, grain size) were measured and DNA was extracted to characterize the abundance and diversity of microbial communities. The obtained results show significant differences in the five areas suggesting that present-day microbial molecular biomass and bacterial taxonomic is partly inherited from past land occupation. Over longer period of time, such study of land-uses legacies may help to better assess ecosystem recovery and the impact of management practices for a better soil quality and vineyards sustainability.

Adaptation to soil and climate through the choice of plant material

Choosing the rootstock, the scion variety and the training system best suited to the local soil and climate are the key elements for an economically sustainable production of wine. The choice of the rootstock/scion variety best adapted to the characteristics of the soil is essential but, by changing climatic conditions, ongoing climate change disrupts the fine-tuned local equilibrium. Higher temperatures induce shifts in developmental stages, with on the one hand increasing fears of spring frost damages and, on the other hand, ripening during the warmest periods in summer. Expected higher water demand and longer and more frequent drought events are also major concerns. The genetic control of the phenotypes, by genomic information but also by the epigenetic control of gene expression, offers a lot of opportunities for adapting the plant material to the future. For complex traits, genomic selection is also a promising method for predicting phenotypes. However, ecophysiological modelling is necessary to better anticipate the phenotypes in unexplored climatic conditions Genetic approaches applied on parameters of ecophysiological models rather than raw observed data are more than ever the basis for finding, or building, the ideal varieties of the future.

Copper contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux: spatial risk assessment for the replanting of vines and crops

Copper (Cu) is widely and historically used in viticulture as a fungicide against mildew. Cu has a strong affinity for soil organic matter and accumulates in topsoil horizons. Thus, Cu may negatively affect soil organisms and plants, consequently reducing soil fertility and productivity. The Bordeaux vineyards have the largest vineyard surfaces (26%) within French controlled appellation and a great proportion of French wine production (around 5 million hl per year). Considering the local context of vineyard surfaces decreasing (vine uprooting) and possible new crop plantation, the issue of Cu potential toxicity rises. Therefore, the aims of this work are firstly to evaluate the Cu contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux, secondly to produce a risk assessment map for new vine or crop plantation. We used soil analyses from several local studies to build a database with 4496 soil horizon samples. The database was enhanced by means of pedotransfer functions in order to estimate the bioaccessible (EDTA-extractable) Cu in soils of samples without measurements. From this database, 1797 georeferenced samples with CuEDTA concentrations in the topsoil (0-50 cm depth) were used for kriging interpolation in order to produce the spatial distribution map of CuEDTA in vineyard soils. Then, the spatial distribution of Cu was crossed with vine uprooting surfaces and municipality boundaries. CuEDTAconcentrations ranged from 0.52 to 459 mg/kg and showed clear anomalies. Our results from spatial analysis showed that almost 50% of vineyard soil surfaces have CuEDTA concentrations higher than 30 mg/kg (moderate risk for new plantation) and 20% with concentrations higher than 50 mg/kg (high risk for new plantation). A decision-support map based on municipalities was realised to provide a simple tool to stakeholders concerned by land use management.

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Influence of climatic conditions on grape composition of Tempranillo in La Mancha DO (Spain)

The aim of this work was to analyze the variability in grape composition of the Tempranillo cultivar related to climatic conditions, in La Mancha Designation of Origin. Grape composition (sugar content, total acidity, pH, malic acid, and total and extractable anthocyanins) recorded during ripening, were analysed for the period 2000-2019. The weather conditions at daily time scale, recorded during the same period, were also evaluated. The relationships between grape parameters with climatic variables related to temperature and to water deficits, referring different periods between phenological events along the growing cycle, were evaluated using regression analysis. High variability in grape composition was observed in the period analysed. Total acidity varied between 3.7 and 7.3 gL-1 while malic acid varied between 1.2 and 4 gL-1. The extractable anthocyanins ranged between 526 and 972 mgL-1, and total anthocyanins ranged between 922 and 1388 mgL-1, being the lowest values recorded in the hottest year (2017). Total acidity decreased 0.77 gL-1 for an increase of 100 GDD, while malic acid decrease in 0.42 gL-1 for the same GDD increase, being the period between veraison and harvest the one that seemed to have higher influence on acidity. In addition, it was confirmed that increasing water deficits decreased acidity. Total and extractable anthocyanins increased in about 210 and 105 mgL-1, respectively, with an increase of 100 GDD from veraison to harvest, and the increase in water deficits favour the increase of anthocyanins, both total and extractable anthocyanins. Total and extractable anthocyanins concentration increased in 35 and 22 mgL-1 per an increase of 10 mm in the water deficit. These results can be of interest to understand the potential changes that grapes composition may suffer under future warmer climates.