Integration of climatic indices in an objective probabilistic model for establishing and mapping viticultural climatic zones in a region

• Published in: Theoretical and applied climatology 2016-05, Vol.124 (3-4), p.1033-1043
• Main Authors: Moral, Francisco J., Rebollo, Francisco J., Paniagua, Luis L., García, Abelardo, Honorio, Fulgencio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Air temperature; Analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate; Climatic data; Climatic zones; Climatology; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Goods and services tax; Growing season; Mathematical models; Original Paper; Precipitation; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Wineries & vineyards; Wines
• ISSN: 0177-798X; 1434-4483
• DOI: 10.1007/s00704-015-1484-0

Different climatic indices have been proposed to determine the wine suitability in a region. Some of them are related to the air temperature, but the hydric component of climate should also be considered which, in turn, is influenced by the precipitation during the different stages of the grapevine growing and ripening periods. In this study, we propose using the information obtained from ten climatic indices [heliothermal index (HI), cool night index (CI), dryness index (DI), growing season temperature (GST), the Winkler index (WI), September mean thermal amplitude (MTA), annual precipitation (AP), precipitation during flowering (PDF), precipitation before flowering (PBF), and summer precipitation (SP)] as inputs in an objective and probabilistic model, the Rasch model, with the aim of integrating the individual effects of them, obtaining the climate data that summarize all main climatic indices, which could influence on wine suitability from a climate viewpoint, and utilizing the Rasch measures to generate homogeneous climatic zones. The use of the Rasch model to estimate viticultural climatic suitability constitutes a new application of great practical importance, enabling to rationally determine locations in a region where high viticultural potential exists and establishing a ranking of the climatic indices which exerts an important influence on wine suitability in a region. Furthermore, from the measures of viticultural climatic suitability at some locations, estimates can be computed using a geostatistical algorithm, and these estimates can be utilized to map viticultural climatic zones in a region. To illustrate the process, an application to Extremadura, southwestern Spain, is shown.