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Knowledge of spatial variability of soil fertility and plant nutrition is critical for planning and implementing site-specific vineyard management. To better understand the key drivers behind vineyard variability, yield mapping from 2002 to 2005 and 2007 (the monitor broke down in 2006) was used to identify zones of different productive potential in a Pinot Noir field located in Raimat (Lleida, Spain). Simultaneously, the vineyard field was sampled in 2002, 2003 and 2007, applying three different schemes (depending on the number of target vines in different grape yield zones). The sampling carried out in 2002, which involved different soil, topographic and crop properties (mineral contents in petiole), made it possible to evaluate the influence of these parameters on the grape yield variability. The zones of lowest yield coincided with locations in which the nutritional status of the crop exhibited the lowest values, particularly with respect to petiole contents of calcium and manganese. Sampling systems adopted in 2003 and 2007 (grape quality and soil attributes) confirmed the inverse spatial correlation between grape yield and some grape quality parameters and, more importantly, showed that the percentage of soil carbonates had a great influence on grape quality probably due to the reduced availability of manganese in calcareous soils. Site-specific vineyard management could therefore be considered using two different strategies: variable-rate application of foliar fertilizers to increase the yield in areas with low production and also foliar or soil fertilizers to improve the quality specifications in some areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the spatial variability of runoff and erosion rates in vineyards of Northeastern Spain. The study examined plots with high disturbance (HD) and low disturbance (LD) of the soil profile and evaluated whether soil surface properties were conditioning runoff and erosion rates. It discusses soil and rainfall characteristics as well as runoff differences in the HD and LD plots and differences in sediment concentration.

The article presents a study on the agricultural trajectories and farming systems in the Priorat region in Spain. In the Priorat region, as well as in the other mountain regions of Mediterranean European countries, the intensification of crops is said to be based on either land leveling or terracing, and the abandonment of usual land use management practices. One of the objectives of the study is to relate the coexisting farming systems in Priorat to the landscape impacts they involve. The researchers combined multivariate statistical techniques to understand the heterogeneity of farming systems on a local scale.