VineDivers

Essential ecosystem services (ES) in viticulture landscapes result from diverse communities of organisms and their interactions. Traditional viticulture usually was part of a multifunctional agricultural system including low-input grassland management and fruit production. Therefore, the high diversity of habitats resulted in a high functional biodiversity. However, in the last decades, land use changes and intensification in vineyard management caused a separation of production and conservation areas. Moreover, the fear of competition for water and nutrients between weeds and grapevines led to a low tolerance attitude against weeds in vineyards. Today agricultural practices often counteract synergies between plant and arthropod diversity and the related ES. Wild bees play an important role as pollinators for wild plant species and fruit trees such as cherries, apricots or almonds, which are characteristic elements of viticulture landscapes across Europe. Moreover, even though grapevines are self/wind pollinated, influences of pollinators on grapevine yield or quality are possible. While the link between plant diversity and pollinators is rather well known, we know very little about how plant diversity affects the diversity of soil biota and their interactions. Especially earthworms act as ecosystem engineers and are eminent for nutrient cycling, soil structure and the formation of stable soil aggregates, which contribute to improved water infiltration and soil erosion mitigation. These effects are important, because more extreme precipitation events are predicted with climate change and soil erosion is one of eight main causes of soil degradation, counteracting soil carbon sequestration and threatening sustainable land use. Hence, diversely structured, species-rich viticulture landscapes can reduce the need for external inputs while being a cultural heritage that provide aesthetic values for human well-being and recreation. To integrate biodiversity and agricultural production, we will examine new approaches at different spatial scales (plot, farm and landscape), assess the socio-economic consequences and formulate best practice recommendations for policy and farmers.