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Vinecology Research

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The Vinecology Research Consortium supports the research mission of Vinecology and includes academic researchers, students, and affiliates interested in applied research questions relating to sustainable viticulture, ecosystem services, working landscapes, and biodiversity, among many topics.

The Vinecology Research Consortium is presently working to promote research in the following areas:

  • Wine Quality from Sustainably Managed Vineyards
  • Water Use, Water Utilization, & Water Quality
  • Cover Cropping and Biodiversity
  • Disease Ecology, including Pierce's Disease
  • Landscape Scale Agroecology
  • Ecosystem Services and Ecosystem Monitoring
  • Market-based Incentives
  • Matrix Habitat Restoration
  • Global Vineyard Assessments

To find out more about ongoing and proposed research from the Vinecology Research Consortium, please contact:
Joshua H. Viers, Ph.D.
jhviers@ucdavis.edu


Research Group Resources

  • Wine grapevines and native plants make a fine blend, study shows

    in

    Vinecology researcher John Williams published a paper recently in the online journal Carbon Balance and Management. He and coauthors found that vineyard landscapes that include both vines and native vegetation provide more environmental benefits than vineyards planted solidly in grapevines.

    Website: 
    http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/6/1/11/abstract
    Website: 
    http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10078

  • Vinecology Synthesis: The 2nd International Workshop on Biodiversity and Vines (Final Summary Report)

    in

    The summary of our TNC funded international workshop on biodiversity in vineyard landscapes has been published in the attached document.

  • Lubell Policy Briefs

    in

    The attached documents on practices and programs are from Mark Lubell's NSF funded Sustainable Viticulture project (read more here), which will be discussed on Wednesday in depth.

  • Vinecology Synthesis Workshop 2011

    in

    20110118123216
    The upcoming Vinecology workshop is a follow-up to the 1st International Workshop on Biodiversity and Vines, held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2007. That event came out of a collective recognition that vineyard conversion is a major threat to global Mediterranean ecosystems, but that within the winegrowing economic sector there is willingness and opportunity to effect positive change. Over the past 10 years a group of researchers and conservation practitioners have been investigating ecosystem services, sustainable vineyard practices and biodiversity conservation in these systems. At the same time, sustainable vineyard development and management approaches are becoming increasingly prevalent. The benchmarks of sustainability, however, remain somewhat unclear and are generally lacking in scientific basis. As a result, there is a need for the synthesis of scientific and economic data, climate change model results and best management practices in order to guide future vineyard development.


  • Draft Agenda Core Workshop (Tuesday/Wednesday)

    in

    TUESDAY
    0800 Welcome and Opening Remarks
    --Mark Reynolds (The Nature Conservancy)

    0815 Ground Rules and Logistics
    --Joseph McIntyre (AgInnovations Facilitator)

    0825 Participant Introduction
    --Joseph McIntyre

    0855 Recap from Stellenbosch
    --Josh Viers (UC Davis)

    0910 Climate Change and Perennial Agriculture in the New World Mediterranean
    --Kim Nicholas (Lund University)

    0940 Update from California
    --Kirk Klausmeyer (The Nature Conservancy)

    0955 Break

    1010 Update from Chile
    --Olga Barbosa (Universidad Austral de Chile)

    1040 Update from Australia
    --Leanne Webb (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)

    1110 Update from South Africa
    --Inge Kotzé (Biodiversity and Wine Initiative)

    1130 the BWI Experience
    --Inge Kotzé (Biodiversity and Wine Initiative)

    1150 Break for Lunch

    1230 Keynote from Professor Richard Howitt

    1330 Introduction to Afternoon Sessions
    --Joseph McIntyre

    1340 Breakout Session 1 - Thematic Groups
    --CP: Underwood/Kotzé, ES: Williams/Barbosa, CA: Nicholas/Webb

    1510 Break

    1540 Breakout Session 2 - Focus Groups
    --S: Klausmeyer/Deegan, P: Lubell/Kelsey, E: Champetier/Medellin

    1710 Summary Session
    --Josh Viers

    WEDNESDAY
    0800 Welcome Back
    --Josh Viers

    0830 Breakout Session 3 - Emerging Themes
    --TBD

    0945 Break

    1000 Breakout Session 4 - Thematic Groups
    --CP: Underwood/Kotzé, ES: Williams/Barbosa, CA: Nicholas/Webb

    1120 Social Networks and Diffusion of Sustainability Practice
    --Mark Lubell

    1145 Break for Lunch

  • Guest Resources

    in

    20110118123216
    For our Visiting Colleagues, please find additional resources:

    For your stay, we have booked rooms in the Best Western Palm Court Hotel (234 D Street, Davis Phone: 530/753-7100). Below the Palm Court is Cafe Bernardo ★, a tasty moderately priced cafe serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. East down 3rd Street is Newsbeat ★, a nifty shop with a wide selection of newspapers, magazines, candies, drinks, and postcards. Around the corner and south down F Street is Peet's Coffee & Tea ★, and just another right turn west on 2nd Street is Mishka's Cafe. Quick places to grab a bite in the immediate vicinity include Burgers & Brew ★, Zia's Deli, Chipotle, Baja Fresh, Crepeville, and many others. Higher end restaurants abound, with Seasons ★, Aioli, Bistro 33, Little Prague and others come to mind as good places to eat. The best baked goods are certainly to be found at The Village Bakery ★ at the corner of 4th & G Streets, and across the way is El Mariachi Taqueria ★, which serves up several authentic Mexican style salsas. The best single resource for the City of Davis and its many resources is the DavisWiki.org. (★ denotes some favorites)


  • Workshop Location and Directions

    in

    20110118123216
    Vinecology Synthesis Meeting 2011

    Meeting Location: Buehler Alumni and Visitor's Center -- Founder's Room (38.535137 N, -121.74824 W)

    Please find parking just south of the building. If you need a parking pass, please contact us.


    View Larger Map


    Website: 
    http://www.alumnicenter.ucdavis.edu/
    Website: 
    http://www.alumnicenter.ucdavis.edu/directions.htm
    Website: 
    http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buehler+Alumni+and+Visitors+Center,+Davis,+Yolo,+C...

  • Reading Resources for Workshop Attendees

    in

    20110118123216
    The following publications are intended to provide workshop attendees with a brief but necessary introduction to the topics of sustainable agriculture, sustainable viticulture, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and climate change adaptation.

    Links to papers are provided below as attachments.

    Core Reading

    1. Fiedler et. al. 2008. Maximizing ecosystem services from conservation biological control: The role of habitat management. Biological Control, 45, 2007, 254-271.
    2. Lohse, K. A, Newburn, D. A. & A.Merenlender. 2007. Forecasting relative impacts of land use on anadromous fish habitat to guide conservation planning. Ecological Applications, 18, 2007, 467-482.
    3. Norris, Ken. 2008. Agriculture and biodiversity conservation: opportunity knocks. Conservation Letters, 1: 2-11.
    4. Scherr, S. J. and J. A. McNeely. 2008. Biodiversity conservation and agricultural sustainability: towards a new paradigm of 'ecoagriculture' landscapes. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 363: 477-494.
    5. Underwood, E.C., Viers, J.H., Klausmeyer, K.R., Cox, R.L., Shaw, M.R., 2009. Threats and biodiversity in the mediterranean biome. Divers. & Distrib. 15, 188-197.

    Suggested Additional Reading

    1. Altieri et al. 2005. Manipulating vineyard biodiversity for improved insect pest management: case studies from northern California. International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 1: 1-13.

  • From Wine to Whales: An Executive Summary of the 1st International Biodiversity and Vines Workshop

    in

    Organized by the C.A.P.E. Estuaries Programme of CapeNature, Biodiversity and Wine Initiative SA, and Vinecology University of California Davis, the 1st International Workshop on Biodiversity & Vines was held 25-27 June 2007. Nearly 60 participants gathered over three days to discuss research and education as it related to biodiversity conservation in vineyard settings.

    This report is the executive summary of this workshop and a first publication for the Vinecology Research Group.

    Viers, JH, TR Kelsey, P de Villiers, I Kotzé, G Haysom, R Gaigher, SD Wratten, MD Reynolds, & FC Bayly. 2008. From Wine to Whales: an Executive Summary Report of the 1st International Biodiversity and Vines Workshop, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Published by Vinecology Research Group, University of California, Davis, Davis CA USA 20 ppd.

  • SUSTAINABLE VITICULTURE PRACTICES IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA by Mark A. Mayse et. al

    in

    Interest in developing more sustainable viticulture practices is increasing among growers, consumers, and policymakers. A three-year study (1990-92) was conducted in western Fresno County to investigate the effects of cover crops, nitrogen fertilization, and leaf removal not only on yield and quality parameters, but also on population patterns of arthropod pests and their natural enemies. Viticultural data collected included yield, cluster weight, clusters per vine, berry weight, berries per cluster, percentage bunch rot, pruning weight, soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, and a series of nutrient levels (NO3-N, K, P, Zn, Mn, Na, Mg, B). Integrated pest management data collected included leaf sampling for leafhoppers and their egg parasitoids and canopy shakecloth sampling for spiders, as well as sweepnet and pitfall trap sampling for herbivores and natural enemies on vineyard floor vegetation. Results confirm that grape growers have effective alternative practices which should be helpful in developing more sustainable viticulture systems.

    Website: 
    http://cati.csufresno.edu/verc/rese/95/951201/

  • Greening Waipara

    in

    This research-driven project headed by Dr. Steve Wratten at Lincoln University (NZ) inclused local wine growers to calculate the dollar-value of the services provided by nature. These ecosystem services include biological control of pests, pollination and keeping soils fertile, among many others. This is a win-win situation where research on nature’s services provides added value through biocontrol and other environmentally-friendly practices, including reduced reliance on herbicides and pesticides, creation of swales and wetlands with native species to filter contaminated stormwater and vineyard effluent – all done via the restoration of habitat using species which were once common.

    Professor Wratten is the Project Leader at the National Centre for Advanced BioProtection Techonologies, looking specifically at understanding the likelihood of successful biological control occurring is likely to be the spatial scale over which experiments are carried out. This applies particularly to conservation biological control in which agricultural and horticultural habitats are manipulated to increase the availability of pollen, nectar, alternative prey/hosts or shelter.

    Website: 
    http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/story13772.html

  • Vinecology Drafts Research Proposal for Pacific Rim

    in

    Vinecology Research Consortium is proposing a cross-disciplinary program to investigate outcomes of sustainable viticulture practices that utilize Māori traditional knowledge through the University of California Office of the President. New Zealand is a global leader in biodiversity protection and has recently incorporated native cover crops into vineyard operations, resulting in improved on farm biodiversity and economic returns. The in-progress 'Greening Waipara' approach to sustainable viticulture is based on Hei Oranga Whenua, Māori for nurture the land, which incorporates traditional knowledge of native plant species to enhance biodiversity.