Abstract
Despite continued investment and evidence of high quality wine production, English and Welsh wine grape yields remain low. To increase sector resilience to weather and climate risks we present the first combined terrestrial and climatic English and Welsh Viticulture Suitability (EWVS) model. Results show many existing vineyards (≥ 1 ha) are sub-optimally located. Limiting the model to the top 20% of suitable land in England and Wales resulted in 33,700 ha of prime viticulture land being identified, a scale just larger than the Champagne region of France. Beyond Kent and Sussex, large areas in Essex, with the warmest 30-year (1981–2010) Growing Season Average Temperature (13.9°C) on mainland Britain, and Suffolk, where few vineyards presently exist, appear especially suitable for viticulture. The EWVS model developed through this work allows, for the first time, a rapid assessment of land at local, regional and national scales to inform investment and policy related decisions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 414-438 |
Journal | Journal of Land Use Science |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 9 Nov 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Bio-climatic indices
- climate change
- English viticulture
- fuzzy logic
- land use
- Welsh viticulture
Profiles
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Stephen Dorling
- School of Environmental Sciences - Honorary Professor
- Water Security Research Centre - Member
- Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences - Member
- ClimateUEA - Member
Person: Honorary, Research Group Member, Research Centre Member
-
Andrew Lovett
- School of Environmental Sciences - Professor of Geography
- Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) - Member
- Environmental Social Sciences - Member
- ClimateUEA - Steering Committee Member
Person: Research Group Member, Research Centre Member, Academic, Teaching & Research