In the Camargue, global warming is killing some of the vines that grow on the sand. And they are not the only victims of the salt that rises to the surface: the trees, too, are suffering.
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“This vineyard was in full activity a year and a half ago. Now everything is dead, it has become a cemetery”, deplores Gilles Bardon, winegrower near Aigues-Mortes, in Petite Camargue. Its vines grow in the sand. They have been producing gray wine for generations and they are under threat from the salt that rises near the surface. “We are in the Camargue and there has always been salt”continues this winegrower.
“Historically, we know about the salt problems. On the other hand, we have never seen such brilliance and such magnitude. It was overwhelming.”
Gilles Bardon, winemakerat franceinfo
The Syndicate for the Defense and Promotion of Sand Wines has been observing the damage for a year. He estimates that 600 hectares are now affected. And it’s not just the vines that suffer from this excess salt: the Camargue research center La Tour du Valat also points to difficulties for the trees: several of them are also dying. Nicolas Beck who works for this research center has made salt readings and the concentrations are spectacular: “In the years 2012, 2013, 2014, we were on a maximum of ten grams of salt per liter of water. Currently, we are at more than 66 grams. We therefore have twice the content of seawater in the space of five years. There is indeed a change that is taking place, in particular by the death of the large trees.”
The current situation is the result of an underground showdown between fresh water and salt water. Normally, the salt is kept in the depths, but there is no longer enough rain to guarantee the pressure of fresh water. “The main cause is still climate changeemphasizes Cédric Santucci, from the Gard Chamber of Agriculture. There is still a scarcity of rain, especially in spring. We always had a few wells in the spring that now we have trouble getting. More intense heat, therefore necessarily more evaporation. The first reason is that.”
This is what has undoubtedly also reinforced the deficit in fresh water and the lack of maintenance of the canals in the sector. An observatory has been set up to assess the phenomenon and try to artificially bring in more water.
In the Camargue, salt destroys the vines – the report by Etienne Monin
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