The implementation of vineyards (or other woody crops) in mountainous regions, where the trend in terms of forest mass has been progressively increasing for years, can help the resistance of the territory against large forest fires. Moreover, it can be an economically viable alternative activity.

ARMAND CASADO (IRTA)

In recent years, the frequency with which vineyards are planted in mountainous regions has increased. This fact responds to various casuistries that affect to a greater or lesser extent depending on the context of each of the people who start new plantations and their productive objective. Most of the farms (in number, although not in surface area) are the result of individual initiatives on family farms seeking to diversify production and/or open up alternative business channels, either to dedicate themselves completely or to do so on a part-time basis. Others (those that occupy most of the cultivated area) come from companies in the sector that have their main activity in typical wine-growing areas and are carried out with purely productive objectives (those at lower altitudes) or as a pilot test to evaluate production in colder regions (those at higher altitudes).

The individual initiatives, although also some of the company ones, stand out for their value within the landscape mosaic of the region by providing a new element that until recently was practically non-existent or null. In addition, the characteristics of the territory mean that these plantations are generally located in areas with a high forestry presence and where the abandonment of agricultural plots has increased in recent decades. As a result, vineyards end up providing even more functionality within the landscape mosaic due to their capacity to act as natural firebreaks. This has been seen in areas that have been affected by forest fires and where the vineyards have acted as a brake on the fire that ravaged the territory. Obviously, the vineyard is not unscathed, although it resists the high temperatures quite well, and the same year's production can be compromised by the effects of ash and other chemical residues carried by the smoke and deposited on the grapes.

In order to evaluate the potential of implementing vineyards in mountainous regions that can contribute to reduce the trend of abandonment of agricultural plots, generate a landscape mosaic more resistant to forest fires and generate new economic opportunities, a territorial study has been carried out. This study consists of an agronomic suitability analysis, a comparison of these initial results with those of areas defined as priority areas for fire management and a socioeconomic analysis. The selected area is located in the northwest of the Catalan Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. Specifically, it is made up of the regions of Pallars Jussà, Alta Ribagorça, Vall d'Aran, Pallars Sobirà, Alt Urgell and Cerdanya.