When field pollution is heterogeneous due to localized pesticide application, as is the case of chlordecone (CLD), the mean level of pollution is difficult to assess. Our objective was to design a decision support tool to optimize soil sampling. We analyzed the CLD heterogeneity of soil content at 0-30- and 30-60-cm depth. This was done within and between nine plots (0.4 to 1.8 ha) on andosol and ferralsol. We determined that 20 pooled subsamples per plot were a satisfactory compromise with respect to both cost and accuracy. Globally, CLD content was greater for andosols and the upper soil horizon (0-30 cm). Soil organic carbon cannot account for CLD intra-field variability. Cropping systems and tillage practices influence the CLD content and distribution; that is CLD pollution was higher under intensive banana cropping systems and, while upper soil horizon was more polluted than the lower one with shallow tillage (<40 cm), deeper tillage led to a homogenization and a dilution of the pollution in the soil profile. The decision tool we proposed compiles and organizes these results to better assess CLD soil pollution in terms of sampling depth, distance, and unit at field scale. It accounts for sampling objectives, farming practices (cropping system, tillage), type of soil, and topographical characteristics (slope) to design a relevant sampling plan. This decision support tool is also adaptable to other types of heterogeneous agricultural pollution at field level. (Résumé d'auteur)

Conservation agriculture through no-till based on cropping systems with high biomass-C input, is a strategy to restoring the carbon (C) lost from natural capital by conversion to agricultural land. We hypothesize that cropping systems based on quantity, diversity and frequency of biomass-C input above soil C dynamic equilibrium level can recover the natural capital. The objectives of this study were to: i) assess the C-budget of land use change for two contrasting climatic environments, ii) estimate the C turnover time of the natural capital through no-till cropping systems, and iii) determine the C pathway since soil under native vegetation to no-till cropping systems. In a subtropical and tropical environment, three types of land use were used: a) undisturbed soil under native vegetation as the reference of pristine level; b) degraded soil through continuous tillage; and c) soil under continuous no-till cropping system with high biomass-C input. At the subtropical environment, the soil under continuous tillage caused loss of 25.4 Mg C ha−1 in the 0–40 cm layer over 29 years. Of this, 17 Mg C ha−1 was transferred into the 40–100 cm layers, resulting in the net negative C balance for 0–100 cm layer of 8.4 Mg C ha−1 with an environmental cost of USD 1968 ha−1. The 0.59 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 sequestration rate by no-till cropping system promote the C turnover time (soil and vegetation) of 77 years. For tropical environment, the soil C losses reached 27.0 Mg C ha−1 in the 0–100 cm layer over 8 years, with the environmental cost of USD 6155 ha−1, and the natural capital turnover time through C sequestration rate of 2.15 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 was 49 years. The results indicated that the particulate organic C and mineral associate organic C fractions are the indicators of losses and restoration of C and leading C pathway to recover natural capital through no-till cropping systems.

Many studies have shown the relationship between fire clearing and mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems in the Brazilian Amazon. This study aimed at quantifying mercury content in long-time cultivated soils and at assessing the potential of a fire-free alternative clearing technique on mercury retention for long-time cultivated soils compared to traditional slash-and-burn. This case study included five land uses: one crop plot and one pasture plot cleared using slash-and-burn, one crop plot and one pasture plot cleared using chop-and-mulch, and one 40-year-old forest as a control. Low mercury concentrations were recorded in the surface horizon (24.83 to 49.48 ng g?1, 0–5 cm depth). The long-time cultivation (repeated burnings) of these soils triggered large mercury losses in the surface horizon, highlighted by high enrichment factors from surface to deeper horizons. The predominant effect of repeated burnings before the experimental implementation did not let us to distinguish a positive effect of the chop-and-mulch clearing method on soil mercury retention for crops and pastures. Moreover, some processes related to the presence of the mulch may favor mercury retention (Hg volatilization decrease, cationic sites increase), while others may contribute to mercury losses (cationic competition and dislocation, mobilization by the dissolved organic matter). (Résumé d'auteur)

Crisis Management of Chronic Pollution: Contaminated Soil and Human Health deals with a long term pollution problem, generated by the former use of organochlorine pesticides. Through a case study of the chlordecone pollution in the French West Indies, the authors illustrate a global and systemic mobilization of research institutions and public services. This "management model", together with its major results, the approach and lessons to be learned, could be useful to other situations. This book gathers all the works that have been carried out over the last ten years or more and links them to decision makers' actions and stakeholders' expectations. This reference fills a gap in the literature on chronic pollution. (Résumé d'auteur)

Les eaux superficielles et souterraines doivent recouvrer une bonne qualité chimique et biologique avant 2015, d'après la Directive Cadre Européenne. Les Bonnes Pratiques Agricoles (BPA) établissent un compromis entre les risques de pollution et de perte de revenu. Le résultat minimal escompté est de respecter la norme de potabilité de 50 mgNO3.L-1 dans les eaux de captage et d'éviter les transferts de pollution de l'hydrosphère vers l'atmosphère. Cependant leur mise en oeuvre ne garantit pas d'atteindre ces objectifs ; cela nécessite des moyens de quantifier l'impact des pratiques agricoles effectives sur la pollution nitrique. Nous avons testé différentes méthodes de quantification, en nous appuyant sur les données issues d'une expérimentation partenariale de prévention de la pollution, menée sur le site de Bruyères (02). La question finalisée est "quel est l'impact des BPA, appliquées de façon systématique, à l'échelle d'un bassin"? La question de recherche est "peut-on modéliser la pollution nitrique, en situation agricole, à l'échelle du bassin hydrologique"? Le site d'étude est un plateau de 187 ha qui alimente une nappe d'eau souterraine, sise dans le Lutétien. Cette nappe alimente 5 sources principales qui connaissent une pollution croissante depuis 1970. Les 21 parcelles cultivées du plateau ont fait l'objet d'une mise en oeuvre systématique des BPA, par les 3 agriculteurs, depuis 1990. Les pratiques agricoles et l'hydrogéologie du site ont été caractérisées. Les débits des sources répondent aux pluies efficaces dans un délai d'une semaine. Le temps moyen de séjour de la molécule de Tritium dans l'aquifère est de 25 ans, à cause de l'épaisseur de la zone non saturée. Compte tenu de ce délai, un niveau intermédiaire d'évaluation est nécessaire : les pertes sous la zone racinaire. Les méthodes de quantification diffèrent selon leur degré de dépendance aux données expérimentales : i) le modèle de calcul LIXIM, associé avec toutes les données observées; ii) un modèle stochastique de réponse des cultures à la dose d'azote, initialisé annuellement; iii) le modèle fonctionnel dynamique STICS, qui peut simuler les pertes du système sol- plante- atmosphère de façon continue pendant plusieurs années. Les prédictions des variables d'intérêt économique et environnemental sont confrontées, aux données observées, aux échelles de la station et du bassin. Les impacts environnementaux et économiques, de différents scénarios de prévention de la pollution, sont simulés. Les reliquats d'azote minéral à la récolte et en entrée d'hiver sont proches et stables dans le temps avec respectivement 41 et 57 kgN.ha-1. L'intégration des flux calculés avec LIXIM, à l'échelle de la rotation culturale, conduit à lisser le facteur culture et à faire du type de sol le principal déterminant de la concentration. La teneur en nitrate moyenne pondérée, de l'eau de percolation, est de 46 mgNO3.L-1 pour la zone cultivée et de 37 mgNO3.L-1 pour l'ensemble du bassin. Ce bon résultat est confirmé qualitativement par la baisse constatée des teneurs de plusieurs captages depuis l'an 2000. Le temps de réponse de l'aquifère serait égal à la moitié de son temps de renouvellement. L'abattement de la teneur en nitrate de l'eau de percolation permis par les BPA, relativement à un scénario conventionnel, est compris entre 27 et 39 %, suivant la méthode de simulation. Le coût des BPA est de 0.07 | Surface and groundwaters must regain good chemical and biological quality before 2015 according to European Directives. Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) establish a compromise between the risks of pollution and the loss of revenue. The minimum result expected is conformity with the drinking water standard of 50 mgNO3.L-1 in the collected water and the avoidance of transfer of pollution from the hydrosphere into the atmosphere. However their implementation does not guarantee that these objectives will be reached ; that requires a means of quantifying the impact of effective agricultural practices on nitrate pollution. We have tested different methods of quantification by using data from a collaborative experiment on pollution prevention, carried out on the site of Bruyères (02). The question targeted was « what is the impact of GAP, applied regularly, on the scale of a catchment area ? » The research question was « can nitrate pollution be modelled, in a farming situation, on the scale of a catchment area ? » The study site is a plateau of 187 ha which supplies a groundwater aquifer located in the Lutetian geological layer. This aquifer feeds five main springs which have suffered increasing pollution since 1970. The 21 cultivated fields on the plateau were subjected to regular implementation of GAPs by the three farmers since 1990. The farming practices and the hydrogeology of the site were characterised. The flow rates of the springs respond to effective rainfall after a delay of a week. The mean residence time of the tritium molecule in the aquifer is 25 years, because of the thickness of the unsaturated zone. In view of this delay, an intermediate level of evaluation is necessary : the losses under the root zone. The methods of quantification differ according to their degree of dependence on the experimental data : i) the LIXIM mathematical model, associated with all the observed data ; ii) a stochastic model of crop response to the nitrogen rate, initialised each year, iii) the functional dynamic model STICS, which can simulate the losses of the soil/plant/atmosphere system continuously over several years. The predictions of the variables of economic and environmental interest are compared with the observed data on the scale of the station and of the basin. The environmental and economic impacts for different scenarios of pollution prevention are simulated. The mineral nitrogen residues at harvest and at the beginning of winter are similar and stable over time at 41 et 57 kgN.ha-1 respectively. The averaging of the losses, calculated with LIXIM, over the crop rotation, smooths out the crop factor and makes the soil type the principal determinant of the concentration. The mean weighted nitrate concentration in the percolating water is 46 mgNO3.L-1 for the cultivated zone and 37 mgNO3.L-1 for the whole basin. This good result is confirmed qualitatively by the fall observed in the contents at several collection points since the year 2000. The response time of the aquifer would be equal to half of its renewal time. The reduction in the nitrate content of the percolation water permitted by GAPs, compared with a conventional scenario, is between 27 and 39%, depending on the simulation method. The cost of the GAPs is 0.07 €.m-3 of drinked water, making prevention competitive with water treatment at the Bruyères site. Dynamic modelling with STICS appears to be effective in the agricultural situation, but its reliability depends on the availability and relevance of the databases used to calibrate it. It can take account of a large number of technical inputs and their long-term interactions. Coupling STICS with a geographical information system (GIS) enables the spatial variability of the physical and cultural features of the environment to be integrated. However it is not possible to guarantee the reliability of the predictions for both any time and any place. Access to the precise value of parameters like the crop’s maximum rooting depth or the stock of organic nitrogen is simply not feasible. According to the STICS model, the nitrogen losses simulated in gaseous form are equal to those in solution. This result needs to be verified. Bearing in mind these limitations, modelling based on experimentation can become a management tool for nitrogen in cropping systems on a regional scale. The problem of limiting nitrate leaching is shifted towards the conception of sustainable cropping systems.

Le cycle de l’azote est aujourd’hui, à l’échelle de la planète, le plus profondément perturbé des grands cycles biogéochimiques. L’azote qui entre à 80 % dans la composition de l’atmosphère se transforme en nitrates dans les sols. Une partie de ces nitrates est ensuite entraînée vers les eaux de surface et souterraines. Ce phénomène – absolument naturel – a été fortement amplifié par l’utilisation d’engrais de synthèse depuis le milieu du XXe siècle. Cinquante ans plus tard, la pollution croissante de nos ressources en eaux est devenue un souci majeur et pas seulement parce que la France est menacée de lourdes sanctions par la Commission européenne. Le bassin de la Seine est particulièrement exposé à la pollution par les nitrates, les cultures céréalières et industrielles y étant très développées. Or le bassin compte de nombreux aquifères qui alimentent une large population. Avant même de penser à satisfaire en 2015 la Directive cadre européenne en atteignant le bon état écologique des eaux, il faudrait réussir à stopper l’aggravation de la pollution nitrique. C’est bien sûr l’objectif des décideurs du bassin qui ont néanmoins besoin de savoir comment agir efficacement. Là interviennent les chercheurs. En étudiant de façon aussi fine que possible la diffusion de l’azote et des nitrates vers les aquifères (par l’observation de terrain et l’utilisation de modèles informatiques), ceux-ci contribuent à mesurer l’évolution de la pollution et à proposer des stratégies pour la limiter. Des scénarios sont ensuite testés. La « directive nitrates » de 1991 a abouti à la distinction entre zones dites « normales » et zones « vulnérables ». En « zones vulnérables », le non respect des prescriptions légales du code « de bonnes pratiques agricoles » est passible de sanctions financières. Encore faut-il que les mesures préconisées, fertilisation raisonnée, mise en place de bandes enherbées et d’inter-cultures de type CIPAN (cultures intermédiaires pièges à nitrates), soient efficaces. Les recherches permettent à la fois de le vérifier et de les optimiser. Reste que la propagation des nitrates dans le sol et les aquifères est par essence très lente… Des mesures d’urgence s’imposent en sachant que l’on n’a que trop tardé à les mettre en place et que leur effet sera long à se faire sentir