Socio-ecological adaptation to climate change: A comparative case study from the Mediterranean wine industry in France and Australia

The article aims to present a systemic and comparative framework to study adaptation to climate change in agricultural systems. Mediterranean viticulture, projected to experience significant and rapid changes in climate, is used as a case study. We apply an international socio-ecological approach focusing on viticulture in Roussillon (France) and McLaren Vale (Australia). Mixed-methods, including analysis of meteorological data, semi-structured interviews and field observations, guide an analysis of the exposure, sensitivity and adaptation of the two viticultural systems to climate change. We found that the exposure to climate change is likely to become more acute in the two regions by 2060, and that the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of viticultural systems to such change depend strongly on the complex interaction of ecological and socio-economic factors. Most studies focusing on viticulture and climate change are either oriented towards plant physiology, phenological modelling or the economic future of the industry in one region. The research bridges discipline approaches to provide a holistic comparative analysis to guide adaptation, and argues that socio-ecological analyses will become increasingly important to support adaptation decision-making. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.Anne-Laure Lereboullet, Gérard Beltrando, Douglas K. Bardsle

L'adaptation multiforme des terroirs viticoles au changement climatique: un cas d'etude comparative France (Roussillon)/Australie (McLaren Vale)

English title: Climate change and vineyardsChangement climatique et terroirs viticoles est le premier ouvrage à proposer une méthodologie reposant sur des observations agroclimatiques et sur la modélisation spatiale du climat, permettant d’évaluer la variabilité spatiale des ...Anne-Laure Lereboullet, Gérard Beltrando et Douglas Bardsle

Améliorer la capacité d'adaptation des agrosystèmes viticoles: les apports complémentaires de la climatologie et des sciences sociales

Proceedings of the 2012 Conference of the French National Committee of GeographyAnne-Laure Lereboullet, Gérard Beltrando, Douglas K. Bardsle

The viticultural system and climate change: coping with long-term trends in temperature and rainfall in Roussillon, France

Mediterranean viticulture could suffer from hotter and drier growing seasons over the coming decades. The present article focuses on the wine-producing area Co ˆ tes-du-Roussillon-Villages near Perpignan, in southern France. We used observational daily data (1925–2010) from Perpignan weather station and daily outputs (2001–2060) of the regional climate model ARPEGE- RETIC-V4 from Me ́ te ́ o-France with scenarios A2, A1B and B1, to assess the exposure of the regional wine system to changes in temperature and precipitation, both in the recent past and the coming decades (1925–2060). Tem- peratures during the growing season and summer temper- ature extremes have been increasing continuously since the mid-1980s and are projected to increase faster from the mid-2040s. Precipitation is highly variable and very low in summer, and projections suggest greater uncertainty, and more extreme drought events could be expected. The analysis of climate data was complemented by thirty-two in-depth interviews with local actors of the wine industry to assess the impacts of climate change on their activities and potential adaptive options. Producers reported negative impacts of recent changes in climate in conjunction with a difficult economic situation. Analyses of historical, social and economic backgrounds are important to fully concep- tualize the nature and extent of climate change risks in the region. This case study provides important insights into the roles of non-climatic factors in the generation of vulnera- bility for Mediterranean agricultural systems facing rapid climate change.Anne-Laure Lereboullet, Gerard Beltrando, Douglas K. Bardsley, Eric Rouvella

Le changement climatique va-t-il déstabiliser la filière viti-vinicole dans le Roussillon?

see http://www.climato.be/aic/colloques/actes/grenoble2012_actes.pdfRésumé : Les données quotidiennes de température et de précipitations de la station Météo-France de Perpignan (1925-2010) montrent une augmentation des températures moyennes de la saison végétative depuis le milieu des années 1980 et une succession d’étés particulièrement secs entre 2003 et 2010. Les données quotidiennes du modèle ARPEGE-Climat à résolution de 8 km montrent, pour les scénarios A2, A1B et B1, une possible confirmation de ces changements récents à l’horizon 2060. Couplés à des perturbations économiques, ces changements climatiques pourraient déstabiliser la filière viti-vinicole du Roussillon sur le long terme.Will climate change destabilize the wine industry in Roussillon? Daily temperature and rainfall data from the Meteo-France station “Perpignan” (1925-2010) show an increase in mean temperatures of the growing season since the middle of 1980’s and a succession of particularly dry summers between 2003 and 2010. Daily data from the model ARPEGE-Climat (8km spatial resolution) show, for scenarios A1, A1B and B1, a possible confirmation of those recent changes by 2060. Adding to economic changes, climatic changes could put at risk the wine industry of Roussillon in the next decades.A.L. Lereboullet, G. Beltrando, D.K. Bardsley, E. Rouvella