Influence of the Technological Inputs on the Resilience Capacity of the Viticultural Ecosystems

The viticultural ecosystem evolved during the time toward an industrial ecosystem in which the man acquired an efficient regulatory function. To estimate the tolerance of the ecosystem to the impact of anthropic factors it was introduce the concept of the resilience capacity. The aim of this study was to establish, by using this concept, the influence of soil maintenance system, fertilization system and plant protection system on the functionality of the viticultural ecosystems. The resilience capacity was estimated using 5 specific indicators: the constancy of fruitfulness, the productivity of vines, the quality of the yield, the plants health and the abundance of the useful entomofauna. To quantify the resilience capacity, the coefficient of variation of these indicators was used. It was considered that for a normal functionality of the ecosystem is acceptable a coefficient of variation of maximum 15% for the first three indicators and of 30% for the last two ones. This capacity was generally ensured in case of fertilization system and partially in case of soil maintenance and plant protection systems. Some technological variants, such as the permanent herbage and the chemical and biological protection treatments induced an overcome of the coefficient of variation concerning the constancy of fruitfulness and the productivity of vines, in the first case, and on the level of useful entomofauna and plants health in the second case. In order to prevent an irreversible disequilibrium in the functionality of the viticultural ecosystems we must allocate the technological inputs within the accepted limits of the resilience capacity.