Scenario lab - ASA Ouvèze Ventoux

Scenario lab presentation of the Ouvèze Ventoux ASA perimeter

This scenario lab is located in northern Vaucluse (100 km²). This region is mainly dominated by vineyards and vegetable farms, which are typical systems within the Mediterranean Basin, and is an example of a watershed in a state of imbalance: the demand for water is structurally outstripping the supply.

For several years, this region has been monitored by the Vaucluse Chamber of Agriculture, the Joint Research Unit EMMAH in Avignon, and international research partners (KAUST University, CSIC Seville). Numerous surveys on agricultural practices have shown that regimes for managing resources and plant cover vary greatly. For example, soils may be bare or subject to interseeding. Some farmers plant new, less thirsty varieties while others have turned to agroforestry. To date, research has focused on exploring how variables detected via fine-resolution remote-sensing data could serve as proxies for farming practices and be used to monitor changes in plant cover and soil moisture.

In this scenario lab, these different data sources will be integrated into a MAELIA-based model to evaluate crop system resilience and adaptability. It will explore how to achieve carbon neutrality under different conditions of water resource imbalance. This work will reveal how well MAELIA functions with (i) other crop models (STICS, SAFYE-CO2; WP1) that have been calibrated using remote-sensing data for cover crops currently absent from MAELIA (orchards, vines) and (ii) models of cropping system change that were developed using a statistical approach.