10 années de relations entre scientifiques et carriers : de collaborations contraintes à un partenariat gagnant-gagnant pour la biodiversité

[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]SEDYVINInternational audienceIn the plain of La Crau (South-Eastern France), dry alluvial quarries are exploited since the 1970s, which has caused the destruction of more than 300 ha of the unique Mediterranean steppe of France. Relations established with quarry operators and scientists were developed at first under legal obligations to restore quarries after the end of exploitation. First results obtained since 2010 have shown that it was possible to use direct soil translocation for restoring the pre-existing steppe plant community (plant composition, species-richness); nevertheless, it was not possible to restore its whole integrity (plant diversity, structure, species turn-over, etc.). The use of this technique was also only possible when the pre-existing steppe vegetation and its soil had not been already destroyed. Then, since 2015, different complementary scientific experimentations have shown that new materials (substrate-soil mixtures) and processes could be proposed not only for increasing restoration success in the quarries but also to restore other degraded areas such as landfills, photovoltaic fields or even to create sustainable green roofs without irrigation in the Mediterranean area. Here we will present the first results of these different experimentations realized in partnership between quarry operators and scientists for the development of these new technologies at operational scales