The living agroecological laboratories in Romania : case study - ecological vineyard from SCDVV Murfatlar

Within the Era-NET Core Organic - ALL project (Agroecology Living Labs to promote robust and resilient Organic production systems) in the period 2021-2022 in Murfatlar, an innovative system of ecological cultivation of grapevines was experimented, aiming to by increasing the biodiversity of the viticultural ecosystem to improve environmental, economic and social factors. The degree of health of the plants was monitored, carrying out phytosanitary treatments only upon warning. In this way, the frequency of treatments was reduced by up to 40%. With the help of the DEXiPM multifactorial model that allows the evaluation of the sustainability of the culture system according to several objectives, they were comparatively evaluated. the innovative system of increasing biodiversity compared to the classic one, in the ecological vineyard from Murfatlar. All three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental were improved when using the innovative system. We mention in particular, the increase in farmers' "job satisfaction" (from medium to high) despite the increased "operational difficulties" of the proposed techniques. The environmental impact of intercropping on wine plantations is a variable factor that strictly depends on the climate and the area where the wine crops are located. It should not be overlooked that intercropping can compete for resources with vines, both for water and nutrient uptake. From an economic point of view, the "real profitability" of the system is increased from low to medium, while the "viability" of the system is not changed by the introduced innovation.