Service Plant Survey across vineyards of the South of France in 2016

We conducted a survey across vineyards of the Languedoc Roussillon region (south of France) in 2016. The survey aimed to better understand the generic management strategies of service crops (cover crops, inter crops and spontaneous vegetation) in vineyards during the previous grapevine season, id est., starting in fall 2014 and harvested in fall 2015. The survey was diffused to around 3000 winegrowers by email through public and private extension services of the region in agronomy and viticulture (Chambres d’Agriculture, Biocivam, Sudvinbio, etc.), targeting as much winegrowers as possible without seeking a specific profile. Organisms of organic viticulture consulting in the region, Sudvinbio and CIVAM Languedoc Roussillon, which have a particular interest on understanding service crop strategies, helped to elaborate the questionnaire. The questionnaire (in French), was composed of 101 questions with semi-open and multiple-choice answers divided in five blocks: (i) vineyard features (size, labels, irrigation, soil features); (ii) generic soil management practices (tillage, mowing, herbicide use); (iii) the most common service crop management strategy at the vineyard scale as defined by the spatial design and its duration, plus the use of sown crops or spontaneous vegetation; (iv) their objectives (service targeted and disservices avoided) and constrains to the adoption of service crops; (v) the compost management practices. We gathered 334 winegrower answers, being this sample representative of the region. In the available files you will find : 1) the questionnaire in French; 2) all the answers with codes explained in French; 3) a selection of key variables involved in service plant strategies in English.