Team : MEA 

Project manager :  SAUDREAU Marc

Partner : Vincent Allard (UMR GDEC)

Presentation

Hedgerows have gradually disappeared from the countryside, to the detriment of a large number of ecological functions. Among the ecosystem services associated with hedgerows, it is now well documented that they contribute to maintain biodiversity, attenuate erosion, and store carbon in the soil. Nevertheless, the presence of a hedgerow is unfortunately still perceived more as a burden than an asset within the agricultural profession. A recent report by the CGAAER (General Council for Agricultural Research and Higher Education) estimates that approximately 23’500 km of hedgerows are lost each year in France (estimate for the period 2017-2021) (Falcone et al., 2023). To stop or even reverse this trend, it seems necessary to work collectively to change perceptions of hedgerows within the agricultural world. Among others, it is crucial to improve the analytical tools used to objectively assess the real impacts of hedgerows on cash crops, whether positive or negative, in a variety of soil and climate contexts, including those likely to be affected by climate change. To this end, the GRADIENT project is proposing an approach that combines field monitoring and modeling approaches to quantify and hierarchize the (biophysical) effects of a windbreak on an adjacent crop. The study area chosen is the Limagne plain in the immediate vicinity of Clermont-Ferrand.

Fundings

INRAE, UCA