Operational Group: Efficient management of soil and water resources in vineyards to optimize fertilization and mitigate environmental impact

The objectives of this Task Force are independent of farm size, available technology, level of mechanization, and traditional or modern farming practices, and focus on:

• Promote soil surface protection and the conservation of slopes and rural roads in vineyards to reduce structural degradation, erosion, runoff, and loss of organic matter, mitigating negative impacts on soil and water quality and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Develop decision-making tools at the plot and small agricultural watershed scales that allow for the optimization of integrated soil and surface water management and the reduction of the environmental impact of resources used on farms, using readily available climatic, soil, topographic, and satellite information; widespread use of methods that allow for rapid characterization of soil organic matter content, including laboratory analysis and remote sensing techniques.