Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring & Modelling Programme ERAMMP - Report-32: National Forest in Wales - Evidence Review

This review was commissioned by Welsh Government (WG) from the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP) to provide key evidence of potential benefits and disbenefits of woodland creation, woodland expansion and managing undermanaged woodland, to provide an evidence base to inform the development of a National Forest for Wales. During the commissioning process, WG emphasised that the evidence provided must reflect the collective views of the community by reviewing the literature in an objective way highlighting where evidence is contradictory or weak. Within the time available, evidence of causality of impacts, the likely timescales and magnitude of these impacts should be also be presented, for both positive and negative impacts of woodland expansion and management of undermanaged woodlands. This Evidence Pack should also build on the evidence put forward in the ERAMMP Sustainable Farm Scheme (SFS) (https://erammp.wales/en/resources) which included a range of assessments of the value of intervention measures which promoted trees within a landscape setting for a range of environmental, economic and social outcomes. The required rapid production of the review in four months meant an expert approach of key evidence was expected rather than a systematic review. Key topics to cover were selected, in partnership with WG, focussing on issues that could fundamentally change decision-making going forward. The final agreed list was arranged under a series of high-level subject headings, and the individual reviews published as ERAMMP Reports 33 to 38 and include; Biodiversity; Managing Undermanaged Woodland; Future-proofing our Woodland; Climate Change Mitigation; Ecosystem Services, and Economics and Natural Capital Accounting. An Integrated Assessment was also commissioned to provide a synthesis of cross-cutting themes and dependencies between topics. These ERAMMP reports are all provided as Annexes to this report

Eradication of black rot (Guignardia bidwellii) from grapevines by drastic pruning

A drastic pruning strategy was developed to eradicate the fungal disease black rot (Guignardia bidwellii), which is exotic in Australia, from grapevines, while minimizing the economic cost of returning an affected vineyard to its previous quality and production levels. The protocol involved cutting off vines at the top of the trunk, removing debris from the ground beneath and between vines, mulching the vineyard floor, removing low watershoots during vine regrowth and applying a targeted fungicide programme. The protocol was initially evaluated and consequently modified in Australia using an endemic grapevine disease, black spot or anthracnose (Elsinoe ampelina), as an analogous model system. Then, it was validated in a black‐rot‐infested vineyard in New York, USA. Following two seasons of disease‐conducive weather conditions, no black rot was detected on treated vines, whereas leaf and fruit infections developed on the untreated control vines. These results confirmed the efficacy of the protocol for eradicating black rot from vineyards while allowing vines to return quickly to previous yield and quality levels without replanting. The protocol may have applicability to disease eradication protocols for other perennial crops as well. Evidence is also presented on the efficacy and potential pitfalls of burning infected grapevine material to eradicate E. ampelina.M. R. Sosnowski, R. W. Emmett, W. F. Wilcox, T. J. Wick

Quantification of time trends in vintage scores and their variability for major wine regions of Australia

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comThis paper quantifies time-trends of vintage scores and their variability in 24 wine regions of Australia. Our working hypotheses are that, owing to improved crop husbandry and winemaking techniques, (1) vintage scores had increased with time, and (2) variability in vintage scores had decreased with time, whereas (3) interactions between improved technologies and climate should be reflected in temperature-related time trends of vintage score and its variability. Published data were used to calculate rates of change in vintage score and its variability for the period 1980–2005. Rates were calculated as the slopes of regressions between two dependent variables, i.e. 3-year running average of vintage score (10-point scale) and 3-year running coefficient of variation of vintage score (%), and year of vintage as independent variable. The statistical agreement (r = 0.86, P < 0.05) between rates of change in vintage score derived from two independent sources indicated the vintage scores used in this analysis were fairly robust. Our analysis supported the hypotheses of improvement in vintage score and reduction in variability. More importantly, we provide a quantitative assessment of these trends: the rate of change in vintage scores averaged 0.09 per year, ranged from –0.07 to 0.20 per year, was dominantly positive (35 out of 48 cases), and significant (P < 0.05) in 29 cases, whereas the rate of change in variability of vintage scores averaged –0.52%/year, ranged from –2.1 to 0.8%/year, was dominantly negative (37 out of 48 cases), and significant (P < 0.05) in 19 cases. Consistent with hypothesis 3, the rate of change in vintage score for red wine and the rate of change in variability of vintage score for white wine, were inversely related to temperature (long-term daily mean during the month prior to harvest in each of the regions). By contrast, the rate of change in vintage score for white wine and the rate of change in variability of vintage score for red wine were unrelated to daily mean regional temperature. Owing to the intricate correlations between climate variables, however, the associations between change in vintage scores and temperature cannot be interpreted in terms of cause and effect.V.O. Sadras, C.J. Soar and P.R. Petri

Aspergillus species producing ochratoxin A: isolation from vineyard soils and infection of Semillon bunches in Australia

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comAimsThe incidence of toxigenicity among Australian isolates of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius was assessed. Aspergillus rot and concomitant production of ochratoxin A (OA) in bunches inoculated with A. carbonarius were also investigated.Methods and resultsAspergillus niger and A. carbonarius were isolated from vineyard soils. Aspergillus niger was more widespread than A. carbonarius, and two restriction fragment length polymorphism types of A. niger, N and T, were present. Three of 113 A. niger isolates and all 33 A. carbonarius isolates produced OA. Aspergillus carbonarius was inoculated onto Semillon bunches with and without damage in the month before harvest. Damaged berries at greater than 12.3 (o) Bx were particularly susceptible to Aspergillus rot and production of OA, which was concentrated in severely mouldy berries.ConclusionsOA in Australian grapes results mainly from infection of berries by A. carbonarius. It is concentrated in discoloured, shrivelled berries. The potential for Aspergillus rot and OA production appears to commence after veraison and increase with berry damage and ripeness.Significance and impact of the studyMinimizing damage to grapes between veraison and harvest significantly reduces Aspergillus rot and OA formation. Monitoring the extent of Aspergillus rot in bunches infected with toxigenic Aspergillus spp. may give some indication of OA contamination