In a Highly Competitive Global Market Such As

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Vineyard Management Precision Vineyard Management from Space – From Bacchus to Eneide Simonetta Cheli & Luigi Fusco ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

Stefano Sandrelli Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Milan, Italy

n a highly competitive global market such as the wine business, consistent quality is a must, especially if Europe wants to maintain its position as world leader. It currently accounts for I55% of the world’s vine-growing areas, 60% of wine production and 70% of exports. In this very special sector of agriculture, technology and science play fundamental roles in all phases of activity, from the start of the vine-growing season, through the ripening of the grapes, to the bottling of the wine. The quality of the wine produced depends on many parameters, including the soil characteristics in the area, the weather and growth conditions during the season, the ability to monitor and control vine diseases, the degree of maturity of the grapes at harvest time, their grade, colour, organic acids, etc. during fermentation and, finally, the wine production techniques employed. In general, however, European vineyard managers still have little access to technical means or reliable systems to guide them in their decision-making.

Precision Farming in the Frascati area Space technologies, particularly those associated with Earth Observation (EO), can help the wine-growing community in a number of technical areas. One of several initiatives promoting the use of EO in the wine sector has been ‘Bacchus’, a Research and ESA/ESRIN lies in the middle of the Frascati DOC wine-growing Technological Development project started in 2003 (to be completed in 2005), funded by region, southeast of Rome. The right-hand image is an ERS multi- the European Community through its Fifth Framework Programme. The project is led by temporal satellite image of the Rome and Castelli Romani region. The second image is from an INTA aircraft multi-special-imaging a consortium representing SMEs, institutes, public agencies and regulatory organisations overflight of the Frascati vineyard area (ESRIN entrance and from the main wine-producing regions of Spain, Italy, France and Portugal (see surrounding vineyards) conducted in 2004, with 50 cm resolution http://www.bacchus-project.com).

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Vineyard Management Precision Vineyard Management from Space – From Bacchus to Eneide Simonetta Cheli & Luigi Fusco ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

Stefano Sandrelli Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Milan, Italy

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Earth Observation Vineyard Management

Assessment of the urban pressure exerted by Rome’s growth on the Frascati DOC area: red = anthropic areas, green = potential Urban in ‘86: 14.59% in ‘96: 15.70% delta: +1.11% vineyard area, as classified using a Landsat-4 TM dataset in 1986 Vineyard in ‘86: 38.00% in ‘96: 35.45% delta: -2.55% Other: in ‘86: 47.40% in ‘96: 48.85% delta: +1.45%

Bacchus’s goal has been to demonstrate This space-based assessment is in line to regional vineyard regulatory bodies, with the changes defined in the land vine quality-control bodies and wine register for the Frascati DOC production. a producers how a comprehensive space- The friendly spirit of cooperation based solution can meet their information between ESA/ESRIN, the local scientific needs. Such a solution relies on the institutions (in particular the University of integration of very-high-resolution Tor Vergata and the Consiglio Nazionale remote-sensing data gathered from space della Ricerca, Istituto Scienze Atmosfera e with other more traditional information Clima) and the local authorities (in available, for instance, in Geographical particular the Municipality of Frascati), all Information Systems (GISs). This Bacchus of whom have an interest in understanding project environment has been used as a and monitoring the evolution of the reference infrastructure for: environment in this part of the world, has – defining new data-handling methods for allowed a unique multidisciplinary know- improving current methodologies for ledge base concerning farming in the vine area location, land parcel Frascati area to be established. Integration identification, and vineyard inventory of this knowledge into the enlarged Bacchus Examples of the geo-/bio-morphological and making project partnership has led to the generation climatological information handled by the Frascati DOC Land Information Management – generating new land-management of very high-quality land-management System developed within the Bacchus project reference maps and experimenting with information systems specifically tailored (courtesy of F. Comandini, CTDF and B. Rapi, b dedicated models for vineyard for the Frascati DOC area. CNR-IBIMET) management. (a) Pedological map, integrating land use, Results for the Frascati Test Site terrain properties and geo-climate parameters Test sites in the participating countries The Bacchus project has taken have been selected for the trialing of pilot advantage of recent progress in EO and (b) Wine-growing suitability map for the Frascati system(s) and for demonstrating the ICT technologies, including: region integrating various geo-morphological potential of this integrated approach to Urbanizzato º Centro Paese – The availability of very-high-resolution data and local climate information several interested parties in the wine Vigneto = Strada Principale imagery from space: IKONOS (since (c) Estimate of 2004 grape production per vine business. In particular, the Frascati DOC Altro 2000) and QuickBird (since 2002) have in the Frascati DOC region for the area covered been providing data with 80 cm and 60 by the INTA overflight cm resolution, respectively. European (Denomination of Controlled Origin) wine resolution EO missions. It has therefore missions with similar capabilities, also region was been selected as one of the two accumulated a large archive of EO data at radar frequencies, will soon become Italian Bacchus test sites. and related information on the Frascati available (e.g. Pleiades and Cosmo ESA’s ESRIN establishment happens to area, mainly to verify the quality of the Skymed) and be able to support wine lie right in the middlle of this important ESRIN-generated EO products. Such data management applications. c wine region southeast of Rome, which is include a high-quality digital elevation – Good progress in web technology, partially in the volcanic Castelli Romani model, for documenting the changes in especially for the handling of mapping area. Since the start of the Earthnet local land use and environmental services as part of the Open GIS Programme at the end of the 1970s, the parameters over time. By using historical consortium standardisation effort and Earth Observation team at ESRIN has had Landsat Thematic Mapper datasets, for the European INSPIRE initiative: the routine access to imagery from Landsat, example, it was possible in 1996 to assess availability of web-GIS technology will ERS, Envisat and several other high- the urban pressure of the city of Rome on make the dedicated geomatic services the Frascati DOC area over the previous 10 accessible via the Internet. years. – Wireless communication: Significant Composite of IRS (5 m resolution) and Quick Bird (0.61 m panchromatic, 2.4 m multi-spectal) satellite imagery covering the Comparison with the classification progress has been made in the Frascati area. The yellow line identifies the boundaries of the performed using images taken in 1996 integration of wireless communication, community participating in the Frascati DOC region; the green shows that: for example to collect ground lines delineate the Frascati DOC vineyards, and the blue lines the measurements or provide information built-up areas in the region

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Earth Observation Vineyard Management

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A Proba CHRIS image frame covering the Frascati DOC test area, The box that housed the vines for the VINO experiment on the – M. Severini discussed how the vintage supporting study of the phenology of the grape in the region by ENEIDE mission the University of Tor Vergata, CNR-ISAC and ESA/ESRIN). The ratings of the Frascati DOC wine have black areas are all the vineyard parcels belonging to the Frascati increased over the last 20 years, showing DOC region The Wine Community Meets Space Tech- how this may be correlated with a nology decrease in the number of frosts ERS and Envisat radar imagery allows During his stay in space, Roberto Vittori experienced per year in the Frascati the ready retrieval of key information participated by audio link in a novel region. about observed vineyards, such as grape workshop titled ‘Space for Wine’, organised quality and surface parameters. The by ESA/ESRIN in collaboration with the Another related issue is the earlier chronology of the cultivation practices in municipality of Frascati, the Strada dei Vini maturation of the grape crops in the years each vineyard can also be derived, which is dei Castelli Romani (Wine Itinerary of the to come. On the basis of local long-term a basis for gathering precise information Roman Castles) and the Consorzio di Tutela meteorological measurements, it is about conditions within the land parcels in Denominazione Frascati (Consortium for estimated that in 2050 the Frascati grapes question. the protection of the Frascati designation of will ripen about three weeks earlier than In a side-study to Bacchus, carried out origin). The workshop was open to local, today. As regards the effect of a for a final-year dissertation at the Univ- regional and national institutions and those temperature increase on the evolution of ersity Tor Vergata, ERS-Envisat synthetic- ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori. An involved in the wine business. The goal was insects, which may in turn affect quality aperture-radar (SAR) imagery was experiment known as VINO (Vines in Near to explain how the application of space grape production, the conclusion from correlated with very-high-resolution Orbits) was therefore rapidly prepared and technology and associated sciences could modelling is that, fortunately, it will be QuickBird optical images to survey the financed by Kayser Italia, the vineyard help the wine-growing community, and the minor, since the estimated warming is not approximately 1800 hectares of the associations of Tuscany, and the provincial ESA astronaut gave the participants a brief sufficient to enable these insects to Frascati DOC area. The integration of the authorities of Livorno. The Soyuz mission, overview of the VINO experiment and its complete the fourth reproduction cycle SAR data into Bacchus has allowed the named ENEIDE, was launched on 15 April aims. The workshop presentations are before grape maturity. retrieval of radar scattering information for 2005 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and available at: individual vineyard parcels. The study has during his eight-day stay on the ISS http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMXD7NQS7 shown that SAR data may also be useful Roberto Vittori conducted a programme of E_Italy_0.html The Future of Vineyard Management for monitoring the development and 21 experiments, including VINO. The various vineyard-management applic- via portable devices. Vineyard managers that, for example, less frost may increase ripening of the grapes, with a consistently VINO was the first attempt to study the The Effect of Global Change on Wine- ations of Earth Observation data gathered view this technology with interest for wine production, but also dramatic impacts sharp increase in backscattering detected growth and development of grape-vine Growing Regions from space which were presented at the supporting the wine traceability chain. in that it may also affect the annual timing during ploughing and harrowing in March cuttings in space. A few samples of rooted As already noted, climate change in the ‘Space for Wine’ workshop clearly of the main stages in grapevine and April. Strong correlations have also cuttings of Sassicaia, a high-quality grape form of global warming can have negative as demonstrate the potential of space During the Bacchus project a number of development (bud break, flowering, been observed between SAR back- variety grown at Tenuta San Guido in well as positive effects on vine-growing monitoring solutions for this highly dedicated tools have also been developed veraison, maturation) or change the scattering and the quantity of the grapes Bolgheri, in the Livorno area, were grafted areas, with the most damaging impacts specialised agricultural domain, at the for: relationship between the vines and their produced in a number of the parcels and taken up to the Space Station. It was expected to occur in today’s top wine- local, regional, national and European – EO image data and GIS management, by parasites. monitored. the first time that such a complex plant had producing regions. A new WWF study level. This view was strongly confirmed by the Spanish partner GEOSYS, to The hyperspectral view (18 bands and been studied in space. Whilst in orbit, the echoes several other recent reports in the representatives of the various provide a friendly PC-based, end-user 18 m resolution) provided by the CHRIS The Eneide Mission and the VINO samples were left to grow at ambient suggesting that the Earth will warm by 2 institutions - Ministry of Agriculture, environment instrument on ESA’s Proba satellite, Experiment temperature inside a sealed container, to degC (3.6 degF) above pre-industrial levels Regione Lazio and the wine sector - who – specific vineyard area high-resolution launched in October 2001, has the Given that wine production can be studied prevent possible bacterial contamination. between 2026 and 2060, unless major steps participated in this unique workshop. The image classification and feature potential to yield additional information on from space, Valfredo Zolesi, Chairman of Once back on Earth, the rooted Sassicaia are taken to reduce greenhouse-gas wine sector has clearly-identified extraction, by the French partner vineyard 'phenology' - the link between Kayser Italia SpA, began to think about the cuttings were analysed to gauge what kinds emissions. The need to change cultivars to operational requirements, and can CEMAGREF grape health and ripening and local possibility of studying the behaviour of of stresses they had undergone. cope with such climate changes could spell definitely benefit from the recent and – vineyard land analysis and management, climate. This information can help grapes directly in space. After all, he Fluid circulation was one of the most economic disaster for the Chianti or future environmental initiatives at by the Italian partner CNR-IBIMET. It significantly in adjusting viticulture and thought, the vine has been regarded interesting aspects of the analyses, since Chardonnay vineyards, but also for the European level, such as the GMES (Global provides models for vineyard area wine production to the potential climate historically as a companion to man, with the rooted cuttings were grafted and the Frascati DOC area. Monitoring for Environment and Security) management and land-use potential for changes that are believed to be on the way. archaeologists believing that wine-making nutrient fluids therefore had to deal with On the other hand, two of the ‘Space for programme. single vineyard parcels in terms of vine A few CHRIS images have already been can be traced all the way back to 5600 BC, two different types of wood. The vines Wine’ presentations highlighted potential vigour, production potential and acquired over the Frascati area for the and it would therefore be fascinating to have since been replanted and in the benefits: Acknowledgement potential product quality. Bacchus project. Co-registration of the think of vines now accompanying men and coming weeks we will see how healthy – A. Castagnoli discussed how the The authors wish to thank all of the images to a common geometry has proved women on their space exploration travels they are and start to evaluate the effect of influence of global change could participants in the ‘Space for Wine’ Accurate knowledge of the local weather to work satisfactorily and the new imagery too. their trip into space on their reproduction represent an opportunity for some wine workshop, and especially those whose data and climatic characteristics are of major has already been integrated into the Such an opportunity was provided by the and growth capabilities. When the plants regions to use presently marginal areas have been used in the preparation of this importance for top wine-producing areas. Bacchus system. Soyuz 10S flight to the International Space are ready to bear grapes next season, more for the production of higher quality article. r The climate can have positive effects in Station (ISS), which included the Italian analyses will be performed … wines in the future.

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