Paleop'Terre

Introduction to the Association

Paleop'Terre was established at the beginning of 2020. Its sole purpose is to raise awareness among young and old about protecting nature through field trips and discovery workshops. We operate in various scientific fields such as paleontology (study of fossils), geology and mineralogy (study of rocks and crystals), botany, and nature in general. We are a small association based in Pont-en-Royans in Isère, at the foot of the Vercors regional park. We work locally in the region in different ways: hikes to learn to recognize useful plants; fossil hunting hikes and workshops to clean and identify them; mountain discovery hikes with an association helping women in distress; creating a micro-educational forest on the university campus of Bourget-du-Lac...

Project Description

The project in detail as a whole is a study of the productivity of a plot in a fruit forest compared to a plot managed in conventional arboriculture. The study will focus not only on fruit yield but also on water management, resilience of plantations (study of hardy and local grafted species). To do this, a pedo-climatic follow-up, a biodiversity follow-up (hymenoptera, rhopaloceran lepidoptera, orthoptera, and botany), a "pest pressure" follow-up, and a balance between non-fruit and fruit species, a drip irrigation follow-up and tensiometric measurement...

The idea is to show that a diversified fruit plot planted in a reforestation zone or already partially vegetated can generate income for a farmer who wishes to avoid traditional intensive monoculture. The secondary idea is to prove that such a plot is more resilient, thanks to interactions with the directly contacting natural environment, and will therefore be better able to react to more intense climate hazards and "pest" attacks in the future.

This project currently has no funding other than my personal funding. It will be carried out over the next five years as it takes three years for fruit trees to start producing and will be in full production estimated from the fourth year (values confirmed in the fifth year). The results will be published in a book detailing the creation and follow-up of a plot.

Returning to the project, as we couldn't get a one-hectare plot, we managed to obtain three plots of about 3000-4000 m2 in three neighboring municipalities with similarities and differences that will consolidate the results. The majority of the plants purchased are similar across the three sites. The drip irrigation system with drippers has been installed on one of the three plots.

For the Courtevoux plot, the idea was to increase biodiversity by placing one or more ponds in the upper part, from which two-thirds of the water can be drawn to irrigate the trees. The pond will be excavated and then covered with a layer of clay to avoid using EPDM tarp and stay with natural materials. Irrigation management will be done by tensiometric monitoring at several points of the plot.

Ecomail thus participates in this study, particularly on the Courtevoux plot (explained above), for the implementation of the pond. This is to attract more biodiversity and to allow the irrigation of fruit trees.