Soil Geochemistry as a Component of Terroir of the Wine-growing Station Jazbina, Zagreb

The study of soil geochemistry as a terroir component of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture experimental wine-growing station Jazbina was carried out with the purpose to better understand the role of soil in terroir by investigating the basic geochemical factors that may affect grape vines and to contribute to the sustainable management of soils in vineyards. During the field work, soil was drilled with an auger to the parent material, soil samples were collected and analysed in the laboratory. Soil physicochemical characteristics were determined along with the content of elements Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, S and Zn in topsoil and subsoil, and in soil profile horizons as well. Dominant soil type is Rigosol from Pseudogley on slope developed on Pleistocene loam and Pliocene clay deposits. Maps of element spatial distributions were generated applying geostatistics and using GIS, and the grouping feature of elements was studied applying multivariate statistics. The results confirm that the soil type of the studied wine-growing site, originally classified as Pseudogley, differs greatly in geochemistry and fertility from soils belonging to the same class, which may finally explain the contribution of soil to the quality of wine produced