Influence of viticulture on the temporary evolution of the landscape: the case of the AO Ribera del Duero (Central Spain)

Abstract

Introduction: The European Landscape Convention (ELC, 2001) defined the landscape as the “part of a territory as perceived by the population and resulting from the action of natural and/or human factors and their interrelationships”. Wine landscapes, protected or not under figures such as cultural landscapes or Cultural heritage, are a clear demonstration of this definition, denoting the interrelationships of the natural environment and the action of the human, which modulates the territory to give the different wine landscapes. This work was focused on the study of the effect of the human factors linked to the cultivation of the vine on the modification of the landscape.

Methods: Landscape images before and after the implantation of different vineyards, so as after the abandonment of some vineyard cultivation were studied to evaluate changes of landscapes from ecological and sustainable points of view. Furthermore, economical aspects were also considered. 

Integral program and objective: This study is a component of a general program of terroir analysis conducted in Spain and that expanding over 5.5 million hectares and includes 370,000 ha of vineyards, using analysis scale of 1:50.000 or 1:25.000, depending on the region (Integral Viticultural Zoning, Gómez-Miguel & Sotés 1992-2018). This work is focused on the special case of AO Ribera del Duero, which landscape has evolved intensively in the last decades. So, the main aim was the analysis of the effect of the temporary evolution (1952/2017) of the vineyard extension in the DO Ribera del Duero territory on its landscape, and its repercussion on the sustainable value of this territory.

Results: The study pointed out both positive and negative effect of the human factor on the landscape due to the vine cultivation. Consolidate viticulture landscape demands continue human action to prevent landscape deterioration, and new plantation obviously modifies the natural landscape, however the changes can also have positive effects, as for example ecological ones when erosion is reduced, or social and economic ones, when new attractive landscapes are created, and they will be used as an enotourism attraction.