Using indicators to assess the environmental impacts of wine growing activity: The INDIGO® method

Environmental assessment methods are needed by agronomists working on the enhancement of cropping systems to meet the demand for more sustainable farming practices. A growing number of operational methods based on a set of indicators have been designed, more for arable crops and livestock than for perennial crops like viticulture. Among them, the INDIGO^® method, originally developed for arable crops, offers a compromise between feasibility and predictive quality. Here we present a modified and expanded version of INDIGO^® for viticulture. The development of new indicators specific to viticulture and the adaptation of existing ones followed a five step approach: (i) preliminary definition of the objectives and identification of the end-users, (ii) construction of the indicator, (iii) selection of a reference value, (iv) sensitivity analysis and (v) validation. Stakeholders from professional institutions and winegrower organizations were closely associated with step (i) to define the framework and step (ii) to supply technical databases. We designed INDIGO^® indicators with all available scientific and expert knowledge which was aggregated into expert systems associating fuzzy subsets or, when possible, quantitative equations.Four indicators; pesticides, nitrogen, energy and soil organic matter, were directly adapted from the initial INDIGO^® method, whereas soil cover and frost protection management were new indicators. Potentialities of their use are highlighted by examples of implementation on different scales and for various purposes.     

成渝地区葡萄园营养状况初步研究与分析

在成渝地区具有代表性的葡萄园内进行了叶样和土样采集分析,结果表明:与标准值对比,大部分葡萄园内叶片中营养元素P与Mg含量水平较低,微量元素Mn与Fe含量水平则偏高；在大量使用有机肥的葡萄园内,土壤中速效性的营养元素N、P、K含量水平相对较高.     

Influence of four soil maintenance practices on Collembola communities in a Mediterranean vineyard

We studied the influence of four soil maintenance practices on Collembola communities in the soil of a Mediterranean vineyard: (a) postemergence herbicide with glyphosate; (b) postemergence and pre-emergence herbicides with glyphosate, terbuthylazine, diuron and oryzalin; (c) natural flora and (d) tillage to a depth of 10–15 cm. Total Collembola abundance, species diversity and species richness significantly varied between the four practices. Notably, the practice using postemergence and pre-emergence herbicides had significantly lower values. Identification of Collembola at species level allowed an interspecies comparison and revealed significant differences for the most common species between the four practices, with each practice being characterized by a different set of species. None of the species were found to be significantly more abundant in the plots treated with postemergence and pre-emergence herbicides.     

Variability in energy partitioning and resistance parameters for a vineyard in northwest China

Grapevines are extensively grown in the semiarid and arid regions, but little information is available on the variability of energy partitioning and resistance parameters for the vineyard. To address this question, an eddy covariance system was applied to measure energy balance over a vineyard in northwest China during 2005-2006. Result indicated that 2-year average Bowen ratio (β) of vineyard was 1.0, canopy resistance (r_c) 289.3 s m⁻¹, aerodynamic resistance (r_a) 9.7 s m⁻¹ and climatological resistance (r_i) 117 s m⁻¹. This implied that the annual energy was split almost equally between sensible heat and latent heat. Compared to the corresponding values in other ecosystems reported by Wilson et al. [Wilson, K.B., Baldocchi, D.D., Aubinet, M., Berbigier, P., Bernhofer, C., Dolman, H., Falge, E., Field, C., Goldstein, A., Granier, A., Grelle, A., Halldor, T., Hollinger, D., Katul, G., Law, B.E., Lindroth, A., Meyers, T., Moncrieff, J., Monson, R., Oechel, W., Tenhunen, J., Valentini, R., Verma, S., Vesala, T., Wofsy, S., 2002. Energy partitioning between latent and sensible heat flux during the warm season at FLUXNET sites. Water Resource Research 38, 1294-1305.], the vineyard had a higher β, r_c and r_i than deciduous forests, corn and soybean, and grassland. Such difference was mainly attributed to (1) serious water stress in 2005, which resulted in a greater r_c up to 364.4 s m⁻¹; (2) sparse canopy with row spacing of 2.9 m and plant spacing of 1.8 m; (3) warm-dry climate and high attitude (1581 m) along with higher r_i and lower psychrometer (54 Pa K⁻¹) in the arid region of northwest China. These characters of vineyard revealed varying process of energy partitioning and surface resistance, and provided a scientific basis in understanding and modeling water and energy balance for the vineyard in the semiarid and arid regions.     

Nitrogen contribution by multipurpose trees to rice and cowpea in an alley cropping system in Sierra Leone

In an alley cropping experiment, a study was carried out on N₂ fixation by Gliricidia sepium, nitrogen (N) accumulation by prunings of Gliricidia, Senna siamea (formerly Cassia siamea) and Gmelina arborea, and the N contribution to associated crops of rice and cowpea.Total N accumulated by the hedgerow trees ranged from 297–524 kg N ha^–1 on average but varied between tree species and depended on the growing season. Gliricidia sepium accumulated 370 kg N ha^–1 on average and more than half of this came from fixation. Senna siamea and Gmelina arborea served as reference trees for estimating N₂ fixation. The estimates of N₂ fixation using Gmelina as a reference gave higher estimates than those using Senna.Although the dry matter and nitrogen yields of prunings from the hedgerow trees were high, their relative nitrogen contribution to the associated crops was generally low ranging from 5 to 29%. Higher crop yields and nitrogen contribution were observed with Gliricidia sepium prunings. The low N contribution from prunings was attributed to the lack of synchronization between the N released from the prunings and the crop's demand for N.     

关中葡萄二黄斑叶蝉种群动态和空间分布型研究

在西北农林科技大学园艺试验站选择历年葡萄二黄斑叶蝉发生较严重的葡萄品种为调查对象,于2013年4~10月进行系统调查,并采用Taylor幂法则、Iwao回归分析法和Lloyd平均聚块性指标对葡萄二黄斑叶蝉种群聚集扩散情况进行测定分析,研究了其种群空间分布型。结果表明,葡萄二黄斑叶蝉在陕西关中地区1年发生3代,若虫1年出现3个高峰。运用3种空间分布测定指标对葡萄二黄斑叶蝉空间分布型的测定结果均一致,葡萄二黄斑叶蝉在关中地区葡萄园呈聚集分布,个体之间相互吸引,聚集强度随种群密度升高而增加,且种群密度随时序动态变化呈现出扩散-聚集-扩散-聚集的规律。     

行间生草对葡萄叶片光合特性的影响

在赤霞珠(Cabernet Sauvignon)葡萄生产园行间种植多年生黑麦草、白三叶草和紫花苜蓿,在葡萄浆果膨大期,测定叶片光合作用相关指标及土壤含水量、叶片相对含水量.结果表明:与清耕相比,行间生草降低了葡萄园土壤含水量和葡萄叶片相对含水量,使葡萄光合速率、气孔导度及蒸腾速率降低,并使气孔导度、光合速率最高峰有所提前.     

Maximizing crop yield in alley crops

A simple graphical model is presented illustrating the balance between facilitation and competition necessary for maximizing crop yield in alley cropping systems. Three functions are composed into the decision function: (1) the percent increase in crop yield from facilitation resulting from prunings, (2) the amount of prunings resulting from different tree densities, and (3) the percent reduction in crop yield from competition from trees. The resulting function illustrates how the balance between facilitation and competition may provide a window of opportunity for the beneficial use of alley crops. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

山地酿酒葡萄园土壤理化性质分析

对陕西省渭北高原山地3个不同海拔高度酿酒葡萄园0 ～ 60 cm土层土壤的理化性质进行了研究.结果表明:各葡萄园土壤pH均在8.0左右,属碱性土壤;土壤有机质和N、P、K等大量元素含量偏低,各种微量元素除了B含量很低以外,其他元素均含量丰富;各葡萄园土壤理化性质差异很大,从整体上看海拔最低点的最好.土壤养分中速效N、P、K含量与黏粒(＜0.002 mm)含量之间呈显著的正相关,与粉粒(0.002 ～ 0.02 mm)含量之间呈显著的负相关.