Challenges for the viticultural landscape – The case of Vipava Hills in Slovenia

Abstract

The article deals with the Vipava Hills, one of the oldest and still promising Slovenian wine-growing regions. Despite the favourable natural conditions, especially for organic viticulture, a comparison of land use in the last two decades shows the abandonment and overgrowth of vineyards in the higher, so-called vineyard sites and, on the other hand, their relocation to the bottom of the Vipava Valley, where grape production is intensified. The article discusses the obstacles leading to the unfavourable development trends in the landscape and demography, and proposes measures that could, on the one hand, prevent further abandonment of agricultural land, especially vineyard land, population out-migration and biodiversity decline and, on the other hand, make better use of the advantages of the ideal combination of climatic, lithological and pedological features, the mosaic-like structure of the landscape, the high degree of naturalness, the extensive protected areas of Natura 2000 and, last but not least, the rich cultural heritage of the region.
 Izzivi vinogradniške pokrajine – primer Vipavskega gričevja v Sloveniji
 Prispevek obravnava Vipavsko gričevje, eno najstarejših in tudi danes obetavnih slovenskih vinogradniških pokrajin. Kljub ugodnim naravnim razmeram, posebej za ekološko vinogradništvo, primerjava rabe zemljišč v zadnjih dveh desetletjih kaže opuščanje in zaraščanje vinogradov v višjih, t. i. vinogradniških legah, po drugi strani pa njihovo selitev proti dnu Vipavske doline, kjer prihaja do intenzifikacije pridelave grozdja. Članek govori o ovirah, ki povzročajo neugodne razvojne trende v pokrajini in demografiji ter predlaga ukrepe, s katerimi bi lahko na eni strani preprečili nadaljnje opuščanje kmetijskih, posebej vinogradniških zemljišč, izseljevanje prebivalcev in upadanje biodiverzitete, po drugi pa bolje izkoristili prednosti idealne kombinacije podnebnih, kamninskih in pedoloških lastnosti, mozaične strukture pokrajine, visoke stopnje naravnosti, obsežnih zavarovanih območij Nature 2000 in nenazadnje bogate kulturne dediščine regije.