Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Spatial suitability analysis for site selection of vineyards using biophysical models and computational intelligence

Spatial suitability analysis for site selection of vineyards using biophysical models and computational intelligence

Abstract

Developing a sustainable agricultural production system and acquiring the full potential of land resources requires employing land-use assessment. This entails knowledge of the climate, soil, and topography of the area of interest. There is a great potential for Growth and development of grapes (Vitis vinefera L.) in the Pacific North West region of the United States. However, there are few studies that have focused on the development of a comprehensive spatial suitability system. The main objective of this study was to develop a spatial site selection system that can help select suitable areas for grapevine cultivation.

Several bio-climatic indices such as Growing Degree Days (GDD), Frost Free Days (FFD), Huglin Index (HI) were calculated for a period of 30 years using daily weather data obtained from the University of Idaho Gridded Surface Meteorological dataset. The soil data were obtained from the gSSURGO dataset and several properties such as soil depth, pH, available water holding capacity (AWC), and drainage class were extracted for the study area. The topographical data were obtained from the National Elevation dataset. The data were then reclassified using fuzzy logic and the soil, weather, and topographic suitability maps were developed. The final vineyard potential scores were obtained by combining the soil, weather, and topographic suitability. The potential scores had a range from 0 to 1, where 0 pertains to non-suitable areas and 1 refers to optimal sites. Consequently, the vineyard potential score for the vineyards that have been established in the state of Washington were obtained from the Crop Scape land cover maps and used as a measure of evaluation.

The spatial site selection system was able to classify the study area to 10 different regions based on their vineyard potential. The evaluation results indicated that 84% of the vineyards that are already established in the study area have a vineyard potential score ranging from 0.91 to 1. Another 15 % had a potential score ranging from 0.8 to 0.9. The results of this study can help decision makers, growers, and others with conducting a more precise land-use assessment for grapevine production.

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Golnaz Badr

Department of Viticulture and Enology, Washington State University

Contact the author

Keywords

Terroir, wine, viticulture, spatial suitability, zoning

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Climate change impacts: a multi-stress issue

With the aim of producing premium wines, it is admitted that moderate environmental stresses may contribute to the accumulation of compounds of interest in grapes. However the ongoing climate change, with the appearance of more limiting conditions of production is a major concern for the wine industry economic. Will it be possible to maintain the vineyards in place, to preserve the current grape varieties and how should we anticipate the adaptation measures to ensure the sustainability of vineyards? In this context, the question of the responses and adaptation of grapevine to abiotic stresses becomes a major scientific issue to tackle. An abiotic stress can be defined as the effect of a specific factor of the physico-chemical environment of the plants (temperature, availability of water and minerals, light, etc.) which reduces growth, and for a crop such as the vine, the yield, the composition of the fruits and the sustainability of the plants. Water stress is in many minds, but a systemic vision is essential for at least two reasons. The first reason is that in natural environments, a single factor is rarely limiting, and plants have to deal with a combination of constraints, as for example heat and drought, both in time and at a given time. The second reason is that plants, including grapevine, have central mechanisms of stress responses, as redox regulatory pathways, that play an important role in adaptation and survival. Here we will review the most recent studies dealing with this issue to provide a better understanding of the grapevine responses to a combination of environmental constraints and of the underlying regulatory pathways, which may be very helpful to design more adapted solutions to cope with climate change.

A geologic numeric mapping, with geophysic transects, of Marsannay’s vineyard (Burgundy, France)

Marsannay est l’appellation la plus septentrionale de la Côte de Nuits, à la limite Sud de Dijon. Elle regroupe trois villages, Chenôve, Marsannay-la-Côte et Couchey, et constitue l’appellation la plus vaste de la Côte de Nuits avec 315 hectares en A.O.C. Elle possède uniquement des niveaux d’appellations régionales et communales depuis 1987.

First results on the chemical composition of red wines from the pressing of marc

In the Bordeaux vineyards, press wine represents approximately 15% of the total volume of wine produced[1]. Valuing this large volume of wine is necessary from an economic point of view, but also because of their organoleptic contribution to the blend, and their contribution to the construction of wines for laying down. Therefore, this study was developed considering the lack of recent scientific knowledge on the composition of red press wines. The aim of this study is to establish an initial assessment of their chemical composition including aromatic compounds and a phenolic part.

Bench terraces, agricultural practices and viticultural zoning in Ribeira Sacra (Galicia, Spain).

L’aire d’AOC Ribeira Sacra s’étend sur plus de 200 km au large des versants escarpés du Miño et du Sil, dans la Galice (Espagne).

Influence of nitrogen source on expression of genes involved in aroma production in Saccharomyces uvarum

Saccharomyces uvarum has interesting properties that can be exploited for the production of fermented beverages. Particularly, the cryotolerance and capacity to produce high amounts of volatile compounds offers new opportunities for the wine industry.