The Interest of buffer zones to limit water transfers of phytosanitary products: what is the possible transposition of knowledge for hedges and hedges on slopes?

Abstract

Grassed buffer zones have proven to be effective in limiting water transfers of plant protection products between the plots on which they are applied and the aquatic environment. This article outlines the processes governing this effectiveness, and examines to what extent the knowledge acquired on these devices is transposable to the case of hedges and hedges on slopes. This transposition makes it possible to integrate these landscape objects into a watershed-scale development strategy to preserve water resources, as a complement to good agricultural practices. It emerges from this analysis that the evolution of soil characteristics induced by the presence of the hedge favours a priori the retention and attenuation of these contaminants. However, further research is still necessary to characterize the rapid transfer of contaminants to the groundwater table, which may be favoured by the root system of the trees making up the hedge.