Engineered wetlands use case for climate change adaptation of vineyards in the Rahovec wine region of Kosovo

Abstract

This paper will assess the feasibility and implementation of an engineered wetland to fight climate change driven grape stock waterlogging and subsequent disease in the Rahovec wine region of the Republic of Kosovo. We will utilize a vineyard in Rahovec which has known disease and waterlogging challenges to determine the extent and examine the geomorphic conditions that caused nearby grape farmers to lose nearly all produce due to infection spread. The hypothesis is that climate change-driven anomalous rain patterns combined with insufficient drainage caused field waterlogging, in these stagnant areas, inferior stock selection led to rapid spread of disease. Within the framework of climate change, adding drainage is a less viable option as compared to an engineered wetland that can emanate healthy microfauna into adjacent and downhill vineyards. To understand the geomorphology, we will conduct drainage basin assessment which will provide watershed information on the location and soils analysis. Field surveys of the damage to vineyard's stocks will be conducted to understand the extent and severity of the disease spread, which will be geographically analyzed to understand risk hotspots. Finally, a proposed construction project will be designed and estimated to provide an understanding of the farmers capabilities to fund the design. An understanding will be developed for the disease impacts occurring with the theoretical engineered wetlands function of replacing the waterlogged disease breading grounds with positive functioning ecosystem building climate change resilience for vineyards.

Keywords

• Engineered wetlands
• Vineyards
• Grape disease mitigation
• Climate change adaptation
• Flood management