Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Crops Pathology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #208710
Title: BIODIVERSITY, HABITAT, AND NATURAL RESOURCE ISSUES IN WINEGRAPE PRODUCTION

Author
item BUGG, ROBERT - UC-SAREP, DAVIS, CA
item Baumgartner, Kendra
item MERENLENDER, ADINA - DEPT OF ESPM, UC BERKELEY
item HARRISON, SUSAN - DEPT OF ENV SCI&POLICY UC
item GIUSTI, GREGORY - UCCE, MENDOCINO, CA

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2006
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The California wine industry traditionally has had a positive public image with a customer base that is relatively progressive and politically astute. California’s well-informed consumers are highly aware of water quality, wildlife, and other environmental impacts of agriculture. Winegrapes are the only major crop expanding into wildlands, especially in the North Coast and Central Coast. The winegrape industry grew rapidly from the mid-1990s to 2000, with new vineyards being carved out of oak woodlands, former wetlands, and farmlands previously devoted to forage, field crops, and orchards. Statewide winegrape acreage stood at over 400,000 in 2000, up from 300,000 in 1995. Areas developed include large sections of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, the North and Central Coast Ranges, and the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our system of government recognizes the responsibility we share in protecting, preserving, and enhancing public trust resources. Public trust resources include water, air, fish, and wildlife. Although an individual may own land, those public resources that occur on that land are held in the public trust for the benefit of all. Sustainable approaches to farming recognize and accept this premise and incorporate the concept in philosophies and practices. This chapter highlights the need for incorporating the principles of biodiversity into sustainable vineyard production systems, and details practices that growers can use to enhance biodiversity.

Technical Abstract: The California wine industry traditionally has had a positive public image with a customer base that is relatively progressive and politically astute. California’s well-informed consumers are highly aware of water quality, wildlife, and other environmental impacts of agriculture. Winegrapes are the only major crop expanding into wildlands, especially in the North Coast and Central Coast. The winegrape industry grew rapidly from the mid-1990s to 2000, with new vineyards being carved out of oak woodlands, former wetlands, and farmlands previously devoted to forage, field crops, and orchards. Statewide winegrape acreage stood at over 400,000 in 2000, up from 300,000 in 1995. Areas developed include large sections of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, the North and Central Coast Ranges, and the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our system of government recognizes the responsibility we share in protecting, preserving, and enhancing public trust resources. Public trust resources include water, air, fish, and wildlife. Although an individual may own land, those public resources that occur on that land are held in the public trust for the benefit of all. Sustainable approaches to farming recognize and accept this premise and incorporate the concept in philosophies and practices. This chapter highlights the need for incorporating the principles of biodiversity into sustainable vineyard production systems, and details practices that growers can use to enhance biodiversity.