A game theory-based prioritization of drought affected demo vineyards using soil main properties in the northern apennines, italy

[Display omitted] •Prioritization of problem-faced fields is vital for proper resources management.•The soil main characteristics varied with depth differently in the study demos.•The game theory successfully prioritized study demo farms using soil properties.•The findings help managers employ drought-mitigation practices in priority farms. The selection of appropriate strategies is required to mitigate drought effects in farmlands. Prioritizing the severity of the water deficit in vineyards is further essential to take early remedial action in the most endangered areas to provide a starting point and sketch out a plan for choosing “the most suitable water resilient management practices” for various research sites. We selected six pilot/ demo sites viz., Santa Maria della Versa (SMV), Canevino (CNV), Borgo Priolo (BPR), Creta (CRT), Vicobarone (VCB), and Genepreto (GNP) in the Northern Apennines, Italy. As a result, the input data on soil profiles, pedological variables, and soil hydrological characteristics were gathered. After calculating and preprocessing the soil properties, the study demo vineyards were ranked for each prioritization criterion. Therefore, we used the Condorcet Game Theory method to identify high-priority vineyards. The findings demonstrated that, for most of the research criteria, the physicochemical characteristics of the soil at two depths (i.e., 0–30 and 30–90 cm) reacted differently. In this regard, BPR 2 and CRT 1 sites were the worst sites encountering drought stress at depths of 0–30 and 30–90 cm, respectively. While at both depths, the SMV1 site was identified as the least important site. The results, on the other hand, revealed that the factors that had the most significant influence on drought stress at the depth of 0–30 cm were the dry density (36.37 %), unit weight (13.74 %), void index (11.11 %), and silt content (9.35 %). However, in soil depths between 30 and 90 cm, dry density (23.96 %) was the most critical component, followed by porosity (12.88 %) and saturation degree (11.48 %). The current study's findings provide a solid foundation for choosing a practical management approach to reduce, cope with, or mitigate the impact of droughts on the Mediterranean region's vineyards.