The RESP'HAIES project

Resilience and performance of farms planting and managing hedges  RESP'HAIES

2019-2022 Coordinator: AFAC-Agroforesterie (Baptiste Sanson) SAS contact: Valérie Viaud SAS research axis: Integrated Assessment website Keywords: agroforestry, hedges, multi-functionality, carbon storage

Research

The objectives of the RESP’HAIES project are to promote plantation and multifunctional management of hedges so that they contribute to the resilience of farms and rural areas and to their economic, environmental and social performance. RESP’HAIES brings together partners from scientific research and professionals from development and agricultural education. 

The project aims to :

• characterize hedges as territorial resources by developing a national reference system for hedge productivity, and by studying the social and technical drivers of the evolution of hedges (action 1),
• consolidate knowledge on the ecosystem services of hedges in farming systems (action 2),
• evaluate the contribution of hedgerows to the technical and economic performance of farms (action 3),
• develop tools to promote the involvement of farmers and local managers in sustainable hedge management, to provide technical arguments to advisors and trainers to help farmers in their decisions (action 4),

SAS research unit is more specifically involved in action 2: we work on the evaluation of carbon storage in soils associated with hedgerows, based on field sampling in three sites in France (Normandy, Hauts de France, Burgundy). We also contribute to the design of a method for calculating biomass and carbon stocks and fluxes in the aerial and soil compartments of hedges.

The outputs of the RESP'HAIES project should help to strengthen knowledge on the subject of hedgerows and to produce new tools and reference systems that will be made available to farmers, agroforestry advisors and technicians, territorial managers who carry out actions in favor of hedgerows, and agricultural education teachers. The SAS research unit will specifically contribute to the production of references on carbon storage in soils in the vicinity of hedgerows in different pedo-climatic contexts in France.

SAS staff involved

Valérie Viaud, Lucas Lesaint, Sylvain Busnot, and technical support from ANATER staff.

Partners 

• Afac-Agroforesteries (coordinator)
• Agroof
• Association Sciences citoyennes
• CEZ – Bergerie nationale
• Chambre d’agriculture de Normandie
• EPLEFPA Terres et Paysages Sud Deux Sèvres
• INRAE (UMR BAGAP / UMR SAS)
• SCIC Bois Bocage Energie
• Solagro
• Université de Caen – UMR CNRS 6554 laboratoire GEOPHEN LETG
• Université de Caen – UMS CNRS 3486 – Maison de la Recherche en Sciences Humaines CERREV

Funding

ADEME https://www.ademe.fr/en