A suitability model for viticulture in England and Wales: opportunities for investment, sector growth and increased climate resilience

Nesbitt, A., Dorling, S. and Lovett, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0554-9273 (2018) A suitability model for viticulture in England and Wales: opportunities for investment, sector growth and increased climate resilience. Journal of Land Use Science, 13 (4). pp. 414-438. ISSN 1747-423X

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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.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: bio-climatic indices,climate change,english viticulture,fuzzy logic,land use,welsh viticulture,sdg 13 - climate action,sdg 15 - life on land ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Water Security Research Centre
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 05 Dec 2018 14:30
Last Modified: 27 Oct 2022 00:09
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69179
DOI: 10.1080/1747423X.2018.1537312

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