Chlordecone was applied between 1972 and 1993 in banana fields of the French West Indies. This resulted in long-term pollution of soils and contamination of waters, aquatic biota, and crops. To assess pollution level and duration according to soil type, WISORCH, a leaching model based on first-order desorption kinetics, was developed and run. Its input parameters are soil organic carbon content (SOC) and SOC/water partitioning coefficient (Koc). It accounts for current chlordecone soil contents and drainage water concentrations. The model was valid for andosol, which indicates that neither physico-chemical nor microbial degradation occurred. Dilution by previous deep tillages makes soil scrapping unrealistic. Lixiviation appeared the main way to reduce pollution. Besides the SOC and rainfall increases, Koc increased from nitisol to ferralsol and then andosol while lixiviation efficiency decreased. Consequently, pollution is bound to last for several decades for nitisol, centuries for ferralsol, and half a millennium for andosol. Soil and water contamination by chlordecone will persist for several centuries in the French West Indies, because the only decontamination is through leaching by drainage water.

Chlordecone was applied between 1972 and 1993 in banana fields of the French West Indies. This resulted in long-term pollution of soils and contamination of waters, aquatic biota, and crops. To assess pollution level and duration according to soil type, WISORCH, a leaching model based on first-order desorption kinetics, was developed and run. Its input parameters are soil organic carbon content (SOC) and SOC/water partitioning coefficient (Koc). It accounts for current chlordecone soil contents and drainage water concentrations. The model was valid for andosol, which indicates that neither physicochemical nor microbial degradation occurred. Dilution by previous deep tillages makes soil scrapping unrealistic.Lixiviation appeared the main way to reduce pollution. Besides the SOC and rainfall increases, Koc increased from nitisol to ferralsol and then andosol while lixiviation efficiency decreased. Consequently, pollution is bound to last for several decades for nitisol, centuries for ferralsol, and half a millennium for andosol.

Chlordecone was applied between 1972 and 1993 in banana fields of the French West Indies. This resulted in long-term pollution of soils and contamination of waters, aquatic biota, and crops. To assess pollution level and duration according to soil type, WISORCH, a leaching model based on first-order desorption kinetics, was developed and run. Its input parameters are soil organic carbon content (SOC) and SOC/water partitioning coefficient (Koc). It accounts for current chlordecone soil contents and drainage water concentrations. The model was valid for andosol, which indicates that neither physicochemical nor microbial degradation occurred. Dilution by previous deep tillages makes soil scrapping unrealistic.Lixiviation appeared the main way to reduce pollution. Besides the SOC and rainfall increases, Koc increased from nitisol to ferralsol and then andosol while lixiviation efficiency decreased. Consequently, pollution is bound to last for several decades for nitisol, centuries for ferralsol, and half a millennium for andosol.

This paper describes the PREI (Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index), a method used to assess the ecological status of seawater along Mediterranean French coasts. The PREI was drawn up according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and was tested on 24 and 18 stations in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur) and Corsica, respectively. The PREI is based on five metrics: shoot density, shoot leaf surface area, E/L ratio (epiphytic biomass/leaf biomass), depth of lower limit, and type of this lower limit. The 42 studied stations were classified in the first four levels of status: high, good, moderate and poor. The PREI values ranged between 0.280 and 0.847; this classification is in accordance with our field knowledge and with our knowledge of the literature. The PREI was validated regarding human pressure levels (r(2)=0.74). (http://eurex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000: 327:0001:0072:EN:PDF). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

peer reviewed | This paper describes the PREI (Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index), a method used to assess the ecological status of seawater along Mediterranean French coasts. The PREI was drawn up according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and was tested on 24 and 18 stations in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur) and Corsica respectively. The PREI is based on five metrics: shoot density, shoot leaf surface area, E/L ratio (Epiphytic biomass/leaf biomass), depth of lower limit, and type of this lower limit. The 42 studied stations were classified in the first four levels of status: high, good, moderate and poor. The PREI values ranged between 0.280 and 0.847; this classification is in accordance with our field knowledge and with our knowledge of the literature. The PREI was validated regarding human pressure levels (r²= 0.74). (http://eurex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:327:0001:0072:EN:PDF)

This paper describes the PREI (Posidonia oceanica Rapid Easy Index), a method used to assess the ecological status of seawater along Mediterranean French coasts. The PREI was drawn up according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and was tested on 24 and 18 stations in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur) and Corsica respectively. The PREI is based on five metrics: shoot density, shoot leaf surface area, E/L ratio (Epiphytic biomass/leaf biomass), depth of lower limit, and type of this lower limit. The 42 studied stations were classified in the first four levels of status: high, good, moderate and poor. The PREI values ranged between 0.280 and 0.847; this classification is in accordance with our field knowledge and with our knowledge of the literature. The PREI was validated regarding human pressure levels (r²= 0.74). (http://eurex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:327:0001:0072:EN:PDF) | Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (Communauté française de Belgique) - F.R.S.-FNRS

[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]SYNERGIE | International audience | The strategy of CLIMB is aiming to employ and integrate advan¬ced field monitoring techniques, remote sensing ana-lyses and retrievals, climate models auditing and integra¬ted hydrologic modeling and socioeconomic factor assess¬ment in a new conceptual framework to significantly reduce exist-ing uncertainties in climate change impact analysis. It will create an integrated risk assessment tool for adaptive water resources management and best agricultural practice under climate change conditions. The risk and vulnerability analysis tool will also enable the assess¬ment of risks for conflict-inducing actions. The impro¬ved models, new assessment tools, and their results will be evaluated against current methodologies. Improvements will be communicated to stakeholders and decision makers in a transparent, easy-to-understand form, enabling them to utilize the new findings in regional water resource and agricultural management initiatives as well as in the design of mechanisms to reduce potential for conflict CLIMB is embedded in a cluster of independent EU- projects with WASSERMed and CLICO, focused on climate induced changes in water resources as a threat to security. | L'objectif de la stratégie du projet CLIMB est d'utiliser et d'intégrer des techniques de suivi avancées sur le terrain, des analyses et des recherches de données faisant appel à la télédétection, de vérification de modèles d'évolution climatique et de modélisation par l'intégration hydrologique, et d'évaluation des facteurs socio-économiques dans un cadre conceptuel nouveau afin de réduire de façon significative les incertitudes existantes au sein des analyses des impacts du changement climatique. Ce projet créera un outil intégré d'évaluation du risque qui servira à gérer d'une façon adaptée les ressources en eau et à mettre en ½uvre les meilleures pratiques agricoles possibles dans les conditions du changement climatique. Cet outil d'analyse du risque et de la vulnérabilité permettra aussi l'évaluation des risques dans le cas d'actions conflictuelles. On comparera les modèles améliorés, les nouveaux outils d'évaluation, et leurs résultats aux méthodologies couramment utilisées. On diffusera les progrès obtenus aux parties prenantes et aux décideurs sous une forme transparente et facile à comprendre, leur permettant d'une part d'utiliser les résultats fraichement produits, tant dans les initiatives relatives à la ressource régionale en eau et à la gestion de l'agriculture, et d'autre part de réduire la source de conflit potentiel.