Increasing productivity and sustainability in UK viticulture: investigating the potential impact of groundcover management practices on soil health, yields and juice quality, and emissions

英国葡萄酒行业在过去10年里迅速扩张，目前估计有3800公顷葡萄种植在这里。这导致了英国葡萄酒销售额的急剧增长，目前市场价值为2.92亿英镑。这一趋势似乎将继续下去，由于许多葡萄园还处于建立的早期阶段，现在需要努力确定最适合英国凉爽气候的土壤管理实践。基于地中海等传统葡萄酒产区的研究与英国葡萄园的相关性有限，因此我们的研究建议非常及时。葡萄园土壤环境与所产生的葡萄酒质量之间的关系被称为土地概念，其宗旨是土壤环境的变化将对所生产的葡萄酒的属性产生显著影响。在英国，葡萄栽培仍然是一个相对年轻的行业，在使用最可持续的做法的同时，在实现最佳和稳定的产量和果汁质量方面，有很多需要学习的地方。覆盖作物可以通过对土壤碳(C)含量、水力传导性、生物多样性和土壤结构的影响来增强土壤健康，从而在这方面发挥重要作用。豆类通常用于覆盖作物的混合物中，它们可以带来增加土壤养分有效性的额外好处，从而减少对化肥的需求。机械除草策略提供了一种不含化学物质的标准除草剂替代方案，而不会影响浆果的产量或质量。土壤健康和土壤碳封存是当前农业环境政策和支付计划的主要焦点，因此，覆盖种植和机械除草措施的实施将为英国葡萄种植者带来环境和经济利益。项目产出将包括为种植者提供基于证据的建议，以适应英国葡萄园的最佳地面管理方法。全行业采用这些做法将向公众、园艺部门和零售商表明，维提行业致力于实现环境和净零目标。我们建议在英国葡萄园开展覆盖种植和机械除草策略的首次全面试验和商业试验，以确定和定制适用于英国葡萄园的最佳土壤管理方法。这些试验点将作为肯特郡商业地产的长期研究设施，我们的意图是它们将主办未来对有益昆虫和土壤病原体的单独但联合的研究。我们打算通过现有的路线将项目成果商业化。

The UK wine industry has expanded rapidly over the past 10 years, with an estimated 3,800ha now under vine. This has generated a sharp growth in sales of British wines, with the market now valued at £292m. This trend looks set to continue, and with many vineyards being in early stages of establishment, work to identify soil management practices best suited to the UK's cool climate is needed now. Research based in traditional wine regions such as the Mediterranean has limited relevance to UK vineyards, so our research proposal is very timely.The relationship between the vineyard soil environment and the quality of the resulting wine is referred to as the _terroir_ concept, the tenet of which is that a change to the soil environment will have a noticeable effect on the attributes of the wine produced. Viticulture in the UK is still a relatively young industry, and there is much to be learnt in terms of achieving optimum and consistent yields and juice quality while using the most sustainable practices. Cover crops could play a significant role here, by enhancing soil health through their effects on soil carbon (C) content, hydraulic conductivity, biodiversity and soil structure. Legumes are commonly used in cover crop mixes, and they can bring the added benefit of increased soil nutrient availability, thereby reducing the need for fertiliser applications. Mechanical weeding strategies offer a chemical-free alternative to standard herbicide regimes without compromising berry yield or quality. Soil health and soil C sequestration are major focuses of current agri-environment policies and payment schemes, therefore the implementation of cover cropping and mechanical weeding practices should bring both environmental and monetary benefits to UK viticulturists.Project outputs will include evidence-based recommendations for growers on the best ground management approaches to suit UK vineyards. Industry-wide uptake of these practices would demonstrate to the public, the horticultural sector and retailers that the viti industry is committed to achieving environmental and net-zero goals. We propose to carry out the first full-scale experiments and commercial trials of cover cropping and mechanical weeding strategies in UK vineyards to identify and tailor optimal soil management approaches for the UK industry. The trial sites will serve as long-term research facilities on commercial holdings in Kent, and our intention is that they host separate but allied future research on beneficial insects and soil pathogens. We intend to commercialise project outputs through an existing route.