Inter-annual variability in the environmental performance of viticulture technical management routes—a case study in the Middle Loire Valley (France)

Purpose Improving the environmental performances of viticulture practices is particularly complicated during unfavorable climatic conditions because of the need for fungal and other pest pressure and the variability of phytosanitary control methods available for winegrowers. However, winegrowers wish to improve the environmental performances of their practices regardless of climatic conditions. The objective of the study was to quantify the variability in environmental impacts due to climatic variations, and changes in viticulture practices induced by climatic variability. Methods Life cycle assessment was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of viticulture technical management routes (TMR) implemented on five plots in the Loire Valley for the Chenin Blanc grape variety. These TMRs are representative of the range of practices used in the region, including intensive conventional practices to moderate organic practices. The study covered two different years of production (2011 and 2013) under contrasting climatic conditions. The first year (2011) was hot and dry, which are favorable conditions for viticulture, while the second year (2013) was cold and humid, which are unfavorable conditions. Results and discussion During the unfavorable year, the number of phytosanitary treatments and soil maintenance interventions increased for most of the studied TMRs. This meant that the inter-annual variability in environmental impact was significant, depending on the type of TMR, with differences in impacts ranging from 19% to more than 40% between 2011 and 2013. Managing environmental impacts was found to be more difficult for the organic systems when climatic conditions are unfavorable (in 2013). The non-organic TMRs showed less variation in environmental impacts than the organic TMRs between the 2 years studied. Conclusions This study shows the importance of taking into account inter-annual variability in environmental assessments of viticulture systems. Indeed, winegrowers do not respond the same way to climate variability mainly with regard to plant protection and soil maintenance. Viticulture is very sensitive to inter-annual climate variations due to the parasitic pressure variability. The different production systems do not give to winegrowers the same possibilities for adapting practices to limit their impact on the environment.