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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Soil erosion rates in Burgundian vineyards.

subject

description

Burgundian vineyards are affected by erosion phenomena that induce sediment transfer along hillslopes. The vineyard under study has occupied the western Bressan rift border for 1000 years, benefiting from marly limestone bedrock and its silt-sand covering. The combined effects of rainstorms and monoculture on slopes reaching 25°, induce a high level of erosion in the arable soil layer. Quantification of erosion rates on a pluri-decennial scale, using vine roots'as a palaeo-surface marker, has been performed on three parcels on three sites along the Côtes-de-Nuits and Côtes-de-Beaune. Assessed erosion rates of around 1 mm.yr-1 characterise current erosive dynamics involving a critical situation for soil sustainability, and consequently for terroir conservation.