Scientific review on the biological quality of vineyard soils and the impact of viticultural practices

Soil quality and good soil management are the best tools to move towards an ecological and economically sustainable viticulture. The IFV has just published a comprehensive 16-page article that reviews all the available literature on the biological quality of vineyard soils, analyzing the international scientific literature of the last thirty years.

Soil quality and good soil management are the best tools to move towards an ecological and economically sustainable viticulture. The IFV has just published a comprehensive 16-page article that reviews all the available literature on the biological quality of vineyard soils, analyzing the international scientific literature of the last thirty years.

World wine production occupies about 7.5 million hectares, representing a market of 31 million euros. Viticulture is a strategic sector of the agricultural economy for the main producing countries, but it is also one of the main consumers of phytosanitary products and mechanization. These practices have consequences on environmental quality and more particularly on soil quality. An increasing number of studies are attempting to assess the impact of winegrowing practices on soil biodiversity. However, the diversity of practices and the diversity of soil organisms make this assessment complex. In this context, an IFV working group has conducted a review of the international literature in order to understand the biological quality of viticultural soils and the impact of viticultural practices.

Results on more than 50 different practices and 230 biological parameters have been compiled and their effects evaluated. Beyond a synthesis of knowledge, the information gathered constitutes a solid basis for proposing a virtuous technical viticultural approach for the biological quality of soils and for the ecological functions that support the sustainability of viticultural production. This work also leads to the identification of actual research paths to be carried out in the short and medium term in the field of viticultural soil quality in the face of the challenges that viticulture is facing.

You can download the IFV article here.  

Source: IFV