Presentation

Mediterranean Environment and Modelling of Agro-Hydrosystems

 The EMMAH Joint Research Unit is characterised by its highly multidisciplinary approach, covering physics applied to heterogeneous media, hydrogeology, soil ecology and agronomy. The complementary nature of its research teams stems from this rich disciplinary diversity, enabling them to address a continuum of systems (aquifer–unsaturated zone, soil, vegetation cover) and processes (transfers, physico-chemistry, biology) for the development of knowledge, characterisation methods and models.

Research themes

The UMR covers five main scientific themes aimed at improving our understanding of processes within the aquifer-soil-plant-atmosphere system in relation to environmental properties and climatic and anthropogenic drivers.
The five themes are:

   1. Characterisation of heterogeneous media in terms of structure and physical properties;
   2. Characterisation of vegetation cover, phenotyping and production
   3. Understanding and modelling the interactions between mass transfers (water, particles, chemicals) in soils and biological activities;
  4. Assessment of crop production in relation to environmental factors (soil, climate, water availability) and plot management;
   5. Water dynamics in groundwater systems and their interactions with surface flows.

Through these research themes and their interactions, the UMR’s contributions to addressing the challenges of global change and the agroecological transition focus on assessing the sustainability of groundwater systems, soil quality and agricultural production. Through its research into transport properties within the soil matrix and the dynamics of these properties influenced by biological organisms and the rhizosphere, the UMR contributes to the development and implementation of agricultural practices that influence soil porosity as an agroecological lever and a means of adapting to climate change.

The results produced by the UMR are primarily formalised through:

• The development of instruments and methods for monitoring environmental properties. The data thus acquired contribute to an understanding of the functioning of hydrosystems, soil and vegetation cover, whilst also enabling the development and implementation of models describing the functioning of these environments (calibration, validation, assimilation). In particular, the UMR relies on remote sensing to characterise agricultural land, and on geophysical measurements and isotopic analyses to monitor variations in soil water content and water transfers from the surface to the aquifer.
•  The development of simulation models and digital platforms that integrate the physical, chemical, isotopic, biological and agronomic processes required to study the complex interactions between these processes. These models can be incorporated into decision-support tools or used to underpin prospective studies. The UMR hosts the ‘Sol Virtuel’ platform.
• The development of soil management practices based on biological interactions to improve water retention and transport properties. These practices must be integrated into innovative technical approaches