Terroir 2010 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Geology and landscape as determining factors in microfields and development of the different Spanish appellations of origin

Geology and landscape as determining factors in microfields and development of the different Spanish appellations of origin

Abstract

Dividing agrarian exploitations into microfields is a problem that influences the modern viticulture in a very important way. The aim of this work is the study of the influence of Geology and Geomorphology in agricultural structures, and more exactly applied to viticulture microfields, as determining factors in evolution and development of certain Appellation of Origin (AO). The field division of three AO in the Northwest of Spain (Toro, Bierzo, Arribes) is compared. These three regions were chosen because they have similar influence elements.
The Toro AO (total area 76.076,43 ha; vineyard area 4.887,12 ha) is located to the West of Duero river basin and it is formed with limestone and carbonated detritic materials from the tertiary series and with the materials from the glacis and the medium and low terraces of the own river. In this context the altitude difference is small (650-825 m) and the shapes are flat and smooth in the quaternary relieve and undulating in the link tertiary surfaces with slopes under 20%. There are neither rocky outcrops nor stoniness to block the crop technical development.
The Bierzo AO (total area 142.672,08 ha; vineyard area 3.785,33 ha) is located in a sinking intermontane depression basin that is filled up with terraces materials, plioquaternary piedmont which are locally linked through tertiary detritical series with quartzite and schist materials that end in the primary mountainous edges due to basin close. The difference among cotes is important (525-1100 m) and the slopes are very changeable; flat in the alluvials, medium and high in the tertiary relieves and very high in the mountainous ones. Only in the mountainous basin edges there are some zones with rocky outcrops that block the crop technical development.
The Arribes AO (total area 101.969,94 Ha, vineyard area 1.66679 Ha) is located in an erosive surface that includes a whole of deep incisions and canyons of the Duero and its associated systems. In this surface the granite materials and schist, gneiss and quartzite paleozoic materials are predominant. These materials are locally covered with rests of glacis and quaternary materials and these filled up some depressions. The relief is very varied, from soft undulating surfaces in the erosive zone to vertical walls related to the incisions. In the whole AO the rocky outcrops and the stoniness make up or have made up an obstacle to the crop technical development.
Even though in the three AO a selection of the medium size is appreciated, the vineyard medium size is more than two times smaller in Toro AO (2.84) and in Bierzo AO (2.84), but more than five times smaller (5.54) in Arribes AO. On the other hand, while in the Toro AO, the wine-grower can select the better quality zones and zones with a proper structure and a independent of the considered elements, in Bierzo AO and in Arribes AO the vine-growers election possibilities are much lower or there are problems with the slopes which are often in relationships to the soil small effective depth, or if these problems have been eliminated by the effort through centuries the microfields division impede the vineyard crop technical development; the vineyard medium size is more than ten times higher in Toro AO, than in Bierzo AO and Arribes AO.

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

Vicente GOMEZ-MIGUEL (1), Vicente SOTES (1)

(1) Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Avda Complutense s/n. 28040-Madrid, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, zoning, landscape, geology, microfield, Appellations of Origin, Spain

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Influence of grapevine rootstock/scion combination on rhizosphere and root endophytic microbiomes

Soil is a reservoir of microorganisms playing important roles in biogeochemical cycles and interacting with plants whether in the rhizosphere or in the root endosphere. The composition of the microbial communities thus impacts the plant health. Rhizodeposits (such as sugar, organic and amino acids, secondary metabolites, dead root cells …) are released by the roots and influence the communities of rhizospheric microorganisms, acting as signaling compounds or carbon sources for microbes. The composition of root exudates varies depending on several factors including genotypes. As most of the cultivated grapevines worldwide are grafted plants, the aim of this study was to explore the influence of rootstock and scion genotypes on the microbial communities of the rhizosphere and the root endosphere. The work was conducted in the GreffAdapt plot (55 rootstocks x 5 scions), in which the 275 combinations have been planted into 3 blocks designed according to the soil resistivity. Samples of roots and rhizosphere of 10 scion x rootstock combinations were first collected in May among the blocks 2 and 3. The quantities of bacteria, fungi and archaea have been assessed in the rhizosphere by quantitative PCR, and by cultivable methods for bacteria and fungi. The communities of bacteria, fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was analyzed by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene, ITS and 28S rRNA gene, respectively. The level of mycorrhization was also evaluated using black ink coloration of newly formed roots harvested in October. The level of bacteria, fungi and archaea was dependent on rootstock and scion genotypes. A block effect was observed, suggesting that the soil characteristics strongly influenced the microorganisms from the rhizosphere and root endosphere. High-throughput sequencing of the different target genes showed different communities of bacteria, fungi and AMF associated with the scion x rootstock combinations. Finally, all the combinations were naturally mycorrhized. The root mycorrhization intensity was influenced by the rootstock genotype, but not by the scion one. Altogether, these results suggest that both rootstock and scion genotypes influence the rhizosphere and root endophytic microbiomes. It would be interesting to analyze the biochemical composition of the rhizodeposition of these genotypes for a better understanding of the processes involved in the modulation of these microbiomes. Moreover, crossing our data with the plant agronomic characteristics could provide insights into their roles on plant fitness.

The use of rootstock as a lever in the face of climate change and dieback of vineyard

As viticulture faces challenges such as climate change or vineyard dieback, the choice of the variety and rootstock becomes more and more crucial. To study rootstock levers in the Bordeaux region, a parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) was planted with four rootstocks in 2014. Twenty repetitions of each of the following four rootstocks were set up: 101-14 MGt, Nemadex AB, 420A MGt and Gravesac. The number of bunches, yields and pruning weights of the vine shoots were measured individually on 240 vines from 2017 to 2021. Since 2020, nitrogen status assessed by assimilable nitrogen level, hydric status assessed by δ13C and berry maturity were measured on 80 samples taken from 20 repetitions of the four rootstocks. A lower yield was measured for CS grafted onto Nemadex AB due to the lower number of bunches and the lower weight of berries. The differences between the other three rootstocks are small, but CS grafted onto 420A MGt was the most productive. The CS grafted onto Nemadex AB had the lowest pruning weight while 101-14 MGt had the highest. In 2020, δ13C showed a more moderate water stress with 101-14 MGt and 420A MGt than with Nemadex AB. Surprisingly, the Gravesac was under more stress than the 101-14 MGt. The nitrogen status in the berries was better for Nemadex AB but this was perhaps due to the significantly lower weight of the berries.Rootstock 101-14 MGt attained the highest accumulation of sugars in the berries while 420A MGt allows to preserve higher acidity. The parcel is still young which may explain some of the results. These measures must therefore be continued over the next several years to fully assess the effects of these rootstocks on the development of the vines and the quality of the production under new climatic conditions.

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"...

Characterization of variety-specific changes in bulk stomatal conductance in response to changes in atmospheric demand and drought stress

In wine growing regions around the world, climate change has the potential to affect vine transpiration and overall vineyard water use due to related changes in atmospheric demand and soil water deficits. Grapevines control their transpiration in response to a changing environment by regulating conductance of water through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Most vineyard water use models currently estimate vine transpiration by applying generic crop coefficients to estimates of reference evapotranspiration, but this does not account for changes in vine conductance associated with water stress, nor differences thought to exist between varieties. The response of bulk stomatal conductance to daily weather variability and seasonal drought stress was studied on Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Ugni blanc, and Semillon vines in a non-irrigated vineyard in Bordeaux France. Whole vine sap flow, temperature and humidity in the vine canopy, and net radiation absorbed by the vine canopy were measured on 15-minute intervals from early July through mid-September 2020, together with periodic measurement of leaf area, canopy porosity, and predawn leaf water potential. From this data, bulk stomatal conductance was calculated on 15-minute intervals, and multiple regression analysis was performed to identify key variables and their relative effect on conductance. Attention was focused on addressing multicollinearity and time-dependency in the explanatory variables and developing regression models that were readily interpretable. Variability of vapor pressure deficit over the day, and predawn water potential over the season explained much of the variability in conductance, with relative differences in response coefficients observed across the five varieties. By characterizing this conductance response, the dynamics of vine transpiration can be better parameterized in vineyard water use modeling of current and future climate scenarios.

‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ (Vitis vinifera L.) berry skin flavonol and anthocyanin composition is affected by trellis systems and applied water amounts

Trellis systems are selected in wine grape vineyards to mainly maximize vineyard yield and maintain berry quality. This study was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate six commonly utilized trellis systems including a vertical shoot positioning (VSP), two relaxed VSPs (VSP60 and VSP80), a single high wire (SH), a high quadrilateral (HQ), and a guyot (GY), combined with three levels of irrigation regimes based on different crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacements, including a 25% ETc, 50% ETc, and 100% ETc. The results indicated SH yielded the most fruits and accumulated the most total soluble solids (TSS) at harvest in 2020, however, it showed the lowest TSS in the second season. In 2020, SH and HQ showed higher concentrations in most of the anthocyanin derivatives compared to the VSPs. Similar comparisons were noticed in 2021 as well. SH and HQ also accumulated more flavonols in both years compared to other trellis systems. Overall, this study provides information on the efficacy of trellis systems on grapevine yield and berry flavonoid accumulation in a currently warming climate.