RESPOnD
RESPOnD: Climate resilient alpine wine orchards
Work Package 1: Mapping Alpine Wine Orchards - Ecosystem Services & Climate Impacts
- Funding: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
- Duration: 01.09.2024 - 31.08.2027
- Researchers at PES UBT: Sebastian Candiago, Doménica Jaramillo
- Link to the project website: https://www.alpine-space.eu/project/respond/
Introduction
Mountain wine orchards provide important cultural, ecological, and economic values, but climate change is threatening their sustainability, biodiversity, and support to local communities. The RESPOnD project tackles these challenges by implementing ecosystem-based adaptation approaches to enhance Alpine wine orchards’ climate resilience. Through stakeholder collaboration, RESPOnD co-creates knowledge and develops scalable solutions, aiming to secure the Alpine wine sector’s future, preserve its unique heritage, and ensure sustainability in the face of climate impacts.
Methods
WP 1 focuses on identifying and mapping Alpine wine orchards' ecosystem services and climate vulnerabilities. Key methods include the co-creation of knowledge on alpine viticulture in dedicated Living Labs, mapping and assessing critical ecosystem services and climate impacts, and analysing wine orchards' conditions and resilience to enhance their adaptive capacity.

Fig. 1: The 11 partners involved in the RESPOnD partnership
Expected results and discussion
The RESPOnD project’s WP 1 first activity will be the production of a common methodology for the co-creation of knowledge with stakeholders from the wine sector in multiple pilot regions (Living Labs). Based on this knowledge, WP1 will develop a set of geospatial indicators to map critical provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services together with high-resolution bioclimatic variables. Findings will provide actionable insights to characterize Alpine wine orchards’ conditions and resilience levels. They will also support the co-design of ecosystem-based adaptation strategies tailored to local contexts. Additionally, WP1 will contribute recommendations to regional policymakers, emphasizing the role of nature-based solutions such as enhancing biodiversity to mitigate climate-induced risks.
Conclusion
RESPOnD will provide critical insights into making the Alpine wine sector climate-resilient while ensuring its sustainability. By fostering transnational collaboration and integrating ecosystem-based adaptation approaches, the project aims to deepen the understanding of mountain wine orchards and preserve their unique heritage.
Published by PES-UBT