Analysis and definition of potential new areas for viticulture in the Azores (Portugal)

Abstract

Abstract. Vineyards in the Azores have been traditionally settled on lava field terroirs but the practical limitations of mechanization and high demand on man labor imposed by the typical micro parcel structure of these vineyards contradict the sustainability of these areas for wine production, except under government policies of heavy financial support. Besides the traditional vineyards there are significant areas in some of the islands whose soils, climate and physiographic characteristics suggest a potential for wine production that deserves to be the object of an assessment, with a view to the development of new vineyard areas offering conditions for better management and sustainability.The landscape zoning approach for the present study was based in a geographic information system (GIS) analysis incorporating factors related to climate, topography and soils. Three thermal intervals referred to climate maturity groups were defined and combined with a single slope interval of 0-15 % to exclude the landscape units above this limit. Over this resulting composite grid, the soils were then selectively cartographed through the exclusion of the soil units not fulfilling the suitability criteria.The results show that the thermal interval of warmer conditions, well represented in the traditional terroir of Pico island, has practically no expression in the other islands. However, for the intermediate and the cooler classes, we could map areas of 5611 and 18 115 ha respectively, fulfilling the defined soils and slope criteria, indicating thus the existence of some landscapes in the studied islands revealing adequate potential for future development of viticulture, although certainly demanding a good judgment on the better grape varieties to be adapted to those climatic conditions.

Clavispora santaluciae f.a., sp. nov., a novel ascomycetous yeast species isolated from grapes

“…The Azores archipelago is composed of nine volcanic islands located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, between 36° 55′ and 39° 43′ N and 25° 00′ and 31° 17′ W. On these islands, unique viticultural environments occur in several locations, resulting from the interaction between very particular macro- and microclimatic conditions, autochthonous grapevine cultivars and local viticultural practices. The climate in the Azores archipelago is predominantly influenced by subtropical high pressures and by a transition of air masses from the tropics and colder air masses coming from the North [8]. During a survey in 2009 and 2010 conducted in 33 locations on seven islands of the Azores archipelago, 105 grape samples were collected, and yeast isolates belonging to several species were obtained and preserved.…”

A GIS-Based Multicriteria Index to Evaluate the Mechanisability Potential of Italian Vineyard Area

“…Self-levelling and tilt correction devices allow to operate on steep ground [30][31][32], however, stability risk may occur when the slope exceeds 10 • . The most suitable slopes for viticultural machinery are those in the 0-5 • range, steep slopes (>15 • ) cause difficulty in using vineyard equipment [33][34][35].…”

Using camera-trapping to assess grape consumption by vertebrate pests in a World Heritage vineyard region

“…Vineyards are the most ancient crop in the Azores (Medeiros 1994), having been introduced by the Portuguese during the colonization of the islands in the fifteenth century. Azorean vineyards have been traditionally located on basaltic lava field terroirs, in the lower altitude areas of the islands (Madruga et al 2015) and are divided in small enclosures delimited by stone walls (Fig. S2), which protect the grapes from the maritime winds (Madruga et al 2015).…”

“…Azorean vineyards have been traditionally located on basaltic lava field terroirs, in the lower altitude areas of the islands (Madruga et al 2015) and are divided in small enclosures delimited by stone walls (Fig. S2), which protect the grapes from the maritime winds (Madruga et al 2015).…”