After a very dry summer and winter, the reserves are in tension and the water tables in a worrying situation, according to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research. To fight against the lack of water, a breeder chose to redesign the landscape.
To feed his 500 ewes, Clément, a breeder in the Ardèche, wants the best grass possible. But with the drought that has been raging since last summer and a steep terrain, exposed to the wind, it is difficult to satisfy his animals. “It’s less than ideal for grazing because it’s very dry. The grass is roasting directly in place, he explains. That’s why we chose this plot to try to revitalize it with grass and humidity.”
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To capture this humidity, the breeder is accompanied by Éric Ydais, a specialist in “Keyline design”, a concept born in Australia. “In France, we say that we ‘plant the rain’, translates the expert. We are going to re-impregnate the soil, we are going to use it like a sponge”.
For “plant the rain” as Éric Ydais says, you have to dig furrows in the ground to prevent water from flowing into the valley. But before getting started, the two men mapped the plot and its contour lines with a drone. “We look for the key lines on a piece of land so we use contour linesexplains Éric Ydais. Once we have identified the lines that interest us the most, we will work on this contour line.
“We’re going to make a kind of ditch and the earth that we’re going to remove, we’re going to put it on the downstream part and that’s going to make us a mound on which we’re going to plant trees.”
Éric Ydais, specialist in “Keyline design”at franceinfo
“This one was done with a backhoe because that’s where the slope is the steepest,” says the expert. Two basins have also been created, like the hill reservoirs that already exist in Ardèche. Total cost of the project, more than 60,000 euros, financed through various grants.
Not an alternative
“In places where there are not too many differences in level, there is no need to invest thousands of euros each time to make ditches, assures Clement. A furrow of rai plow can be enough to slow down the water and to make it penetrate in the grounds rather than it leaves in the ways, in the road, the carparks rather than it spins directly to the brook”.
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But don’t expect to replace irrigation either. “It’s not at all what we’re looking for. On the other hand, it can be very interesting to reduce erosion, perhaps to reduce irrigation a little bit, at certain times. It’s not at all a solution that will replace something that already exists, but will help improve humidity in floors and reservoirs”. To enhance his land, the breeder will also test a new grazing technique.
Keyline design, a technique to better capture rain in the ground – report in Ardèche by Boris Hallier.
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