Management of the vineyard: impact on the provision of ecosystem services

Abstract

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2003), ecosystem services are the benefits people receive from ecosystems. In this work, this concept is extended to the agro-ecosystems and, in particular, to the vineyards of the Province of Mendoza, Argentina. Many authors point out that the management practices of an agro-ecosystem can generate benefits to society – due to the increase in the level of existing ecosystem services or the generation of new services – or, on the contrary, generate losses to society by the absence or decrease in the level of ecosystem services. The objective of the work is to identify the impact that the most frequent practices in a vineyard can have on ecosystem services. For this, a bibliographic review is carried out along with interviews with experts on issues related to viticulture, biology and economics. The ecosystem service groups that are addressed are: water resource conservation (in quality and quantity), soil conservation (erosion control services, provision of organic matter, nutrient retention services), and biodiversity conservation. The results indicate that, depending on the practices carried out in vineyards – irrigation, soil management, use of fertilizers and pesticides -, they affect the levels reached by these services and are identified with their corresponding effects on the welfare of the population. This information is considered relevant for decision-making at the enterprise level and for the design of agro-environmental policies.