Publications
Agricultural Landscapes – Tangible and Intangible values of Cultural Landscapes
Agricultural landscapes, shaped by natural, agronomic, and intangible factors, offer both tangible and intangible values that must be sustainably managed. This study highlights the importance of considering these landscapes as living cultural assets, requiring approaches that go beyond conservation to include economic viability, transmission of farming practices, and systemic collaboration among stakeholders. Four case studies—including the UNESCO-listed Lavaux vineyard terraces in Switzerland—demonstrate how complex irrigation systems, sediment management, wooded pastures, and terraced vineyards integrate ecological, agronomic, and cultural dimensions. The research proposes four key recommendations for sustainable management: treating landscapes as dynamic entities, ensuring economic health, preserving intangible practices, and adopting inclusive, systemic approaches involving farmers and other actors.
L'approche par les prestations paysagères, un cadre analytique et un outil de gestion des géopatrimoines à forte composante paysagère
Lavaux's vineyard terraces, recognized for their cultural and natural significance, benefit from a novel analytical approach that evaluates landscape services to enhance their geopatrimonial quality. This study introduces the 'landscape services approach' as a complementary tool to assess intrinsic and usage values of highly landscaped geomorphosites, applied here to three Swiss sites: Derborence, Pyramides d’Euseigne, and Lavaux's terraces. By using the UNIL method for geopatrimonial quality evaluation and analyzing landscape services, researchers demonstrate that this approach strengthens positive perceptions among non-specialist stakeholders, fostering greater interest in their protection. The findings highlight the potential of integrating landscape services into territorial management strategies for World Heritage Sites with strong visual and ecological value.
Labellisation UNESCO… et après ?
A decade after their UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces and Swiss watchmaking urbanism sites show limited additional tourist impact but significant intangible benefits. While quantitative indicators of increased visitation are lacking, the inscription has fostered greater local pride, enhanced media visibility, and opened avenues for territorial development projects. This study, based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews with site managers, reveals that UNESCO recognition primarily strengthens social and symbolic value rather than driving measurable tourist growth.
A vine physiology-based terroir study in the AOC-Lavaux region in Switzerland
A vine physiology-based terroir study in the AOC-Lavaux region revealed that vintage effects significantly influence terroir zones, overshadowing soil groups. The research, conducted over three consecutive seasons across 22 plots with varying expositions, soil types, and altitudes, found spatial temperature variability to be twice as high as annual temporal variation, averaging 395 growing degree days (GDD) between the most extreme plots. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering of vine and berry physiological parameters showed vintage-dependent grouping, highlighting that altitude was the main driver of precocity in all years, independent of vintage. This study underscores the importance of topography in viticultural terroirs and provides insights for optimizing mitigation strategies in the face of global warming.
An example of a vine-physiology based fine-scale terroir study in the AOC Lavaux-region in Switzerland
A vine-physiology based study on the Lavaux vineyard terraces, Switzerland, reveals significant small-scale terroir variations in Chasselas grape cultivation. The research found that altitude was a key driver of budburst and flowering timing, with higher-altitude plots showing earlier phenological development. Notably, while these plots exhibited lower sugar concentrations at maturity (70-84° Oechsle), they accumulated the highest sugar quantities per berry, up to 26% variation. Individual berry weight varied by 35%, highlighting substantial differences in ripening patterns across the 140-ha terraced landscape. This ongoing study demonstrates the potential of vine physiology measurements to characterize terroir at a fine scale, offering insights into grape quality and viticultural practices.
Q fever outbreak in the terraced vineyards of Lavaux, Switzerland
A Q fever outbreak linked to sheep in the terraced vineyards of Lavaux, Switzerland, was identified through epidemiological investigations and veterinary testing. The study found that 43% of sheep carried Coxiella burnetii, while 30% exhibited anti-Coxiella antibodies, highlighting a significant zoonotic risk. Mitigation measures, including flock vaccination and public health alerts, successfully limited the outbreak to 14 human cases, preventing a larger epidemic. The research underscores the importance of surveillance in low-endemicity regions, leading to the reintroduction of mandatory Q fever reporting in Switzerland.
The herbicide glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA in the Lavaux vineyard area, western Switzerland: Proof of widespread export to surface waters. Part II: The role of infiltration and surface runoff
A study on the Lavaux vineyard terraces in western Switzerland found that glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA are widely exported to surface waters, primarily through surface runoff (96%) rather than soil throughflows. The research, conducted over two growing seasons (2010–2011), revealed elevated concentrations of these chemicals at depths of 60–80 cm in parcel bottoms, indicating infiltration and preferential flows driven by rainfall patterns and soil characteristics. Slope steepness and the presence of impervious weathered marls at 100 cm depth influenced throughflows, contributing to lateral transport. The findings highlight that significant rainfall events (>10 mm/day) accelerate herbicide export from the topsoil, emphasizing the role of precipitation regime and soil structure in contaminant mobility.
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