Know more

The OBSERVOX site is an agro-environmental observatory on the Vesle catchment. It aims to guide territory stakeholders in the co-construction of a collective knowledge management device about agricultural practices, in order to help the implementation of actions to improve the water ressource quality.

For further information, go to the ZAPVS website at the bottom of this page.

Profile :

OBSERVOX is a territorial observatory of agricultural practices (especially plant protection practices) on the Vesle catchment upstream of the Couraux water catchment area which covers 700 m². It was created in 2007 in the frame of the AQUAL objective contract. OBSERVOX consists of 5 sub-catchments but only two sites are part of the RECOTOX network : Cernay-les-Reims and Sommevesle. It is carried by the SIABAVE (Intercommunal Vesle catchment management Syndicate) and the scientific part is led by the CReSTIC (Research Center in Sciences and Technology of Information and Communication – Université Reims Champagne Ardennes) and the ASTER unity of INRA of Mirecourt. The Seine Normandie Water Agency and the FEDER take part in the co-financing of the project.

RECOTOX sites characteristics :

In OBSERVOX, two sites are part of the RECOTOX network : the site of Cernay-les-Reims and the site of Sommevesle. The first one covers 37 ha of vineyards localised on the Reims and Berru mountain slope. Approximatively 50 farmers work on this site. The second one, Sommevesle, covers 830 ha of croplands. Those two sites are characterized by a temperate continental climate tending towards oceanic, and chalk soils of the Champagne region. This territory is typical of the Champagne region. 

Contribution to RECOTOX dynamics :

The OBSERVOX observatory aims to increase knowledge in parternship with territory stakeholders on water ressource quality, changing agricultural and wine-making practices and on the factors affecting molecule transferts towards water ressource. It has three objectives :

• Access the change in pesticide pressures linked to their use in vineyards and croplands,
• Explain this evolution,
• Link this evolution to analysed pesticides and metabolites in waters from the Couraux water catchment area.

Benefiting from a 10 year monitoring in the Champagne region, the OBSERVOX site is also located in an agricultural area where there is a heavy use of pesticides. Therefore this site is well chosen to study the impact of pesticide use on water ressources.

Contact : Marc BENOIT, marc.benoit@mirecourt.inra.fr

Website :  http://observox.univ-reims.fr/Pratiques/

Hosting organization : Siabave / Université de Reims / INRA -  CReSTIC / UR Aster