Framework and Tools for Agricultural Landscape Assessment Relating to Water Quality Protection

While many scientific studies show the influenceof agricultural landscape patterns on water cycle and waterquality, only a few of these have proposed scientificallybased and operational methods to improve water manage-ment. Territ'eau is a framework developed to adaptagricultural landscapes to water quality protection, usingcomponents such as farmers' fields, seminatural areas, andhuman infrastructures, which can act as sources, sinks, orbuffers on water quality. This framework allows us to delimitactive areas contributing to water quality, defined by thefollowing three characteristics: (i) the dominant hydrologi-cal processes and their flow pathways, (ii) the characteristicsof each considered pollutant, and (iii) the main landscapefeatures. These areas are delineated by analyzing the flowconnectivity from the stream to the croplands, by assessingthe buffer functions of seminatural areas according to theirflow pathways. Hence, this framework allows us to identifyfunctional seminatural areas in terms of water qualityand assess their limits and functions; it helps in proposingdifferent approaches for changing agricultural landscape,acting on agricultural practices or systems, and/or conserv-ing or rebuilding seminatural areas in controversiallandscapes. Finally, it allows us to objectivize the functionsof the landscape components, for adapting these componentsto new environmental constraints.