Funding:LIFE Adaptation to climate change programme, European Union

Coordinator: Landgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH, Germany

Duration:July 2020 – June 2025

Consortium partners: Altogether 8 research partners and partners from the sector take part in the LIFE VineAdapt project from Austria, France, Germany and Hungary. More than 50 vineyards provide sites for the on-farm experiments.

Website: https://www.life-vineadapt.eu/

Sustainable Viticulture for Climate Change Adaptation

Viticulture is an intensive form of farming, which is heavily affected by climate change. Periods without precipitation are more frequent and last longer, and they are often followed by heavy rainfall bringing a huge amount of water rapidly. This leads to severe erosion damages. In addition, the invasion of new pests is also threatening. Such circumstances call for innovative solutions. With the help of agroecological methods the adaptability of vineyards can be increased in order to survive extreme natural conditions, and also more climate resilient cultivation systems can be developed.

Within the LIFE VineAdapt project the experts of the Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) carry out a large-scale analysis during which native plant species are planted between the vine rows, and their beneficial effects are monitored including protection against erosion (expected lower level of splash erosion), increased humus formation (increased organic matter content in the soil) and more active soil life (nutrient supply, soil structure, water retention capacity). The expected positive impacts together support both the resilience of the vineyard and also the survival of the members of the native flora and fauna (more native plant species, nectar and pollen sources, wild bee species and predators hunting for pests). Through the permanent plant cover planted between the rows the atmospheric carbon sequestration capacity of the vineyards is also expected to be increased.