The expansion of the agricultural frontier: inputs for the zoning of wine-growing areas in Argentina considering the impact of water and soil use

CIVIT, B.; RUBIO, C; PIASTRELLINI, R.; CURADELLI, S.; SALES, R.; ARENA, A. P.

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; 9th Int. Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in Latin America - CILCA 2021; 2021

Red Argentina de Ciclo de Vida/Red Iberoamericana de Ciclo de Vida

The wine industry in Argentina began in the 18th century. At present,the activity is mainly concentrated in the central west region of the country. Mendoza is the province that concentrates 70% of the national production. followed by San Juan and La Rioja. According to the Argentine Wine Corporation,the high-impact strategies that determine the actions of the Argentine wine sector area imed at achieving a greater presence in the international marketthan the currentone. The result of the validation, in the case of wine,showsthat themain challenge is to maintainand consolidate the diversitythat Argentine viticulture has and that distinguishes it from its competitors.For this reason,it is importantto developprogramsand actions that promoteintegration betweenproducersand wineries.Regardingworld wine consumption, the referents consulted considered that at the international level"the expansion of the consumption of sparkling winesand rosés will continue,the sale of whites will grow and there will be stagnation of red wines,consolidating the premiumization of wine consumption and trade".Considering that the trends are met, questionsarisesuch as how much can viticulture continueto grow in Argentina and Mendoza? In addition to consumption, what are the reasons for the growth of the Argentine wine industry?Should only the growth of international consumption (potential demand)be considered?Other variables should also be considered on the side of national production(supply),especiallyin the provinceof Mendoza.What are the variables that determine the growth of the activity? Towards what areas and under what conditionscan viticulturegrow? What are the reasons for the growth of the Argentine wine industry? These questions must be answered taking into account the environmental, social and economic aspects of the sustainability of the Argentine wine sector. And precisely to answer the question about which areas are most appropriate for the growth of the activity, especially the cultivation of grapes for winemaking, the physical and economic availabilityof natural resources, specifically water and soil, must first be known. The challengeis then, to know the environmental impacts (also social and economic) associated with the stage of agricultural production of grapes for viniftcation correspornding to each viticultural zone to achieve improvements in the sustainability of the wine sector and its production chain. Likewise, it is of special interest to spatialize the data obtainedin a multilayer geographic information system that allows viticultural zoning considering agroclimatic aptitudes, environmental impacts and economic valuation.In this work, the result of some of the layers that will make up the information system for the planning of wine growingareasin Argentina is shown: production layer, expressed in total quintals (1Qq 100 Kg), cultivated area layer, expressed in hectares Total and layer impacts due to water shortage, expressed in m3 H20-world eq m3 for the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, Salta, La Rioja, Catamarca, Río Negro and Neuquén. The study covers the average production, surface area and impact of water use for the period 2009-2019,and the varieties Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Bonarda in red, and Torrontés Riojano, Chardonay, Pedro Gimenez in white. The yield per cultivated hectare was considered, as well as the water requirement for this production, and the water scarcity was evaluated by applying the AWARE method. The spatialization and superposition of the data shows the potential areas for the growth of the viticultural activity and shows that some departments of the province of Salta and the provinces of Neuquén and Rio Ne-gro, would present some aptitude for the establishment of crops.