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Development of a Management Tool to Indicate the Environmental Impact of Organic Viticulture

^a Istituto di Chimica Agraria ed Ambientale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29100 Piacenza, Italy
^b Informatica Ambientale S.r.l., Via Teodosio, 13, 20131 Milan, Italy
^c Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau, Ackerstrasse, 5070 Frick, Switzerland

^* Corresponding author (ettore.capri{at}unicatt.it).

Received for publication April 19, 2008. Organic viticulture is an important part of the European Union organic farming sector, and, according to the most recent surveys, 1.5% of European Union wine originates from organic farms, with an upward trend. This paper describes an environmental impact of an organic viticulture indicator (EIOVI) that can be reliably used in the management of organic vineyards. The EIOVI can be used as a decision support system for farmers and other property managers by evaluating the potential ecological impact of their choices, thus optimizing management options. The tool allows the simulation of vineyard management based on six agricultural and ecological modules. The EIOVI is a fuzzy expert system that calculates the relationship between the modules on the basis of a set of 64 decision rules. Initial testing (validation) has been performed using 20 simulations for six Swiss wine-growing estates. The results of these tests were promising; the EIOVI motivates managers to consider the wine-growing estate as a whole by subsummarizing all aspects of management. The visualization of results is very tangible and clearly shows that the use of this indicator could improve the management of the vineyard. With some improvements, the EIOVI will be a helpful assessment tool for vine growers, consultants, environmental agencies, and scientists.

Abbreviations: AAOMI, actual annual organic matter input from compost (or manure) and cover crop residues • AAOMIC, actual annual organic matter input from compost (or manure) use • AAOMICCR, actual annual organic matter input from cover crops • BI, biodiversity indicator • CFUI, commercial fertilizer use indicator • CMFKI, compost or fertilizer potassium indicator • CMFNI, compost or fertilizer nitrogen indicator • CMFPI, compost or fertilizer phosphorus indicator • CVCRI, cover crop indicator • DTI, deficit threshold indicator • EC, electrical conductivity • EIOVI, environmental impact of organic viticulture indicator • FMI, fertilizer management indicator • KAT, potassium available for plant uptake (total) • KDF, potassium demand from fertilizer • LSCI, level of soil compaction indicator • MPAI, machinery power and age indicator • MPI, machinery power per hours of use indicator • NAT, nitrogen available for plant uptake (total) • NDF, nitrogen demand from fertilizer • PAT, phosphorus available for plant uptake (total) • PDF, phosphorus demand from fertilizer • PEC, predicted environmental concentration • PDMI, pest and disease management indicator • RDI, regulated deficit irrigation • SMMUI, soil management and machinery use indicator • SOMI, soil organic matter indicator • VBA, volume balance approach • WMII, water management infiltration indicator • WMIRI, water management irrigation rate indicator • WMITI, water management ion toxicity indicator • WMQI, water management quality indicator • WMSI, water management salinity indicator