Water storage variability in a vineyard soil in the southern highlands of Santa Catarina state

Rodrigo Vieira Luciano,Jackson Adriano Albuquerque,Álvaro Luiz Mafra,André Da Costa,Josué Grah

doi:10.1590/s0100-06832014000100008

Rodrigo Vieira Luciano, Jackson Adriano Albuquerque + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0100-06832014000100008

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Abstract

In the subtropical regions of southern Brazil, rainfall distribution is uneven, which results in temporal variability of soil water storage. For grapes, water is generally available in excess and water deficiency occurs only occasionally. Furthermore, on the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina, there are differences in soil properties, which results in high spatial variability. These two factors affect the composition of wine grapes. Spatio-temporal analyses are therefore useful in the selection of cultural practices as well as of adequate soils for vineyards. In this way, well-suited areas can produce grapes with a more appropriate composition for the production of quality wines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatio-temporal variability of water storage in a Cambisol during the growth cycle of a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard and its relation to selected soil properties. The experimental area consisted of a commercial 8-year-old vineyard in São Joaquim, Santa Catarina, Brazil. A sampling grid with five rows and seven points per row, spaced 12 m apart, was outlined on an area of 3,456 m². Soil samples were collected with an auger at these points, 0.30 m away from the grapevines, in the 0.00-0.30 m layer, to determine gravimetric soil moisture. Measurements were taken once a week from December 2008 to April 2009, and every two weeks from December 2009 to March 2010. In December 2008, undisturbed soil samples were collected to determine bulk density, macro- and microporosity, and disturbed samples were used to quantify particle size distribution and organic carbon content. Results were subjected to descriptive analysis and semivariogram analysis, calculating the mean relative difference and the Pearson correlation. The average water storage in a Cambisol under grapevine on ridges had variable spatial dependence, i.e., the lower the average water storage, the higher the range of spatial dependence. Water storage had a stable spatial pattern during the trial period, indicating that the points with lower water storage or points with higher water storage during a certain period maintain these conditions throughout the experimental period. The relative difference is a simple method to identify positions that represent the average soil water storage more adequately at any time for a given area.

Highlights

Analyzing water storage in soils of the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina during the growth and reproduction cycle of grapevine is useful to select management practices that contribute to higher yields and/or to improve the composition of wine grapes
Minimum storage ranged from 25 mm at point 18 up to 142 mm at point 34; while the maximum ranged from 117 mm at point 25 up to 224 mm at point 34 (Table 1)
The coefficients of variation (CV) for the two years of collection remained in the range between 10 and 39 %

Summary

Introduction

Analyzing water storage in soils of the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina during the growth and reproduction cycle of grapevine is useful to select management practices that contribute to higher yields and/or to improve the composition of wine grapes. Vieira et al (2010) studied spatial and temporal variability of moisture in two systems of land use: maize-alfalfa rotation, and bush growth with predominance of pine. They observed that spatial dependence increased during the soil drying cycle

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