Climate change may shift wineries into key corridors

The high sensitivity of viticulture to climate means that climate change has great potential to cause a shift in suitable winery locations.  The establishment of new vineyards often leads to the destruction of local ecosystems, and creates poor quality habitat for native vertebrates and invertebrates.  Water use by vineyards in particular can create a conservation concern through reduction of water flow in streams and increased irrigation in areas with less precipitation due to climate change.  The areas to which viticulture (and agriculture in general) may shift, and how this shift may impact local ecosystems, is important to assess in order to plan for continued connectivity in the landscape.

In their recent paper, Hannah and colleagues evaluate potential shifts in viticulture regions throughout the world due to climate change.  By modeling climate suitability for viticulture under different climate change scenarios, they pinpointed several regions throughout the globe that are most likely to become suitable for viticulture, including crucial large-scale corridors such as the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor.  In western North America, a region along the U.S./Canada border that may have high viticulture suitability in the future includes a major corridor for grizzly bears, grey wolves, and other large mammals.  Maintaining this region, and others with high endemic species and high biodiversity, would require advanced planning to ensure that future viticulture in the region does not interrupt critical pathways for species movement and dispersal.