GreenVitis: Effects of soil management on the productivity and sustainability of the Douro wine system
“GreenVitis - Effects of soil management on the productivity and sustainability of the Douro wine-growing system” was a project supported by PRODER 43880 (Med. 4.1- Cooperation for Innovation), completed in March 2015.
Its goals were to assess the effect of three different soil management practices in the vineyard (conventional tillage with a scarifier, covering with spontaneous flora and covering with a sown mixture of grasses and legumes), using a vineyard plot located at Quinta do Vallado. This project made it possible to quantify the impact of these three soil management practices on the functioning and productivity of the vineyard ecosystem and on environmental quality, in a holistic approach.
This project was promoted by the partners:
- Quinta do Vallado - Soc. Agrícola, Lda. (promoter)
- Bragança Polytechnic Institute
- ADVID
Tasks carried out:
- Monitoring the microclimate variables associated with the three soil management practices and their impact on the system's behaviour;
- Monitoring soil-vineyard water relations and the physiological behaviour of the vine;
- Viticultural and oenological characterisation;
- Evaluation of the efficient use and recycling of nutrients and the consequences for vine development, in particular the N cycle;
- Assessment of soil and nutrient losses through erosion, and implications for the quality of run-off water;
- Evaluation of carbon balances and footprints;
- Monitoring vine health;
- Economic evaluation of the three practices tested in terms of system profitability.
Photos from the GreenVitis meeting.
