Water destroyed everything along with soils and vineyards. How can we repair and restore?
Consequences of the Xynthia storm on disaster stricken populations are evidently enormous. People died, others are without shelter and do not necessiraly have rebuild projects. Faced with these human dramas, it is sometimes difficult to talk about materialistic and economical consequences. But when Nature unleashes it also destroys part of itself. A part very often used by man in agricultutal production. Therefore it is important to know how to use Nature to mend consequences of its upset.
Amongst these consequences there is one that has had very little media coverage although its impact on an economic sector is not to be neglected. Soils and vineyards flooded by seawater must restart their biological activities in order to wash away all the salt from the ground (sodium chlorate).
As the sodium cation is generally associated with the anion chlorine, we have a detrimental effect on soil structure stability ( clay dilution and then build up of an asphyxiating compact mass).
My advice in treating salt saturated soils.
Plants start to suffer when soil contains more than 1°/00 of sodium chlorate but this value depends very much on the soil water retention capacity .
Furthermore it is commonly agreed that there is a danger to the structure decaying when sodium represents more than 8 to 15% of base exchange capacity.
Sufficient quantities of Calcium and Potassium presence in the soil allow to potentially remedy to an excess of Sodium presence.
In soils where there is a risk of salt crytallising, it is a matter of fighting against the Sodium ion fixation by introducing soluble salts in the soil . These salts supplying rapidly absorbed cation capable of rapidly shifting Sodium.
Calcium sulfate helps with removing salt from soils, the released Calcium swaps places with Sodium in the soil and salt can be disposed of by leachings.
It evidently requires a good drainage system to evacuate waters containing the dispaced Sodium..
Even more water?
Beware that through the leaching process one does not create , because of water excess, a soil completely drenched. Particularly vineyards , at the start of the vegetation cycle, causing an anaerobe phenomenon (Root asphyxia).
Consequently it is better to promote a Sodium ion consumption through the CEC calcite bridge (Cationic Exchange Capacity) .
In practice , a low CEC will not allow this exchange and transfer function .
Therefore I recommend the use of a Calcium compound (oxide, Hydroxide, silicate) such as SILIBASE
which in conjunction with the degraded organic matter will digest the Sodium through soil solution.
Thanks to colloidal properties, the finest particles (silts, clays, humus fractions) are formed into stable aggregates.
The ongoing soil work will give an oxygenation favourable to warming up allowing micro organisms to start microbiological fermentation.
In a context where Nature gathers its elements reminding us that it can unleash at any time with a multitude of causes and effects.
We must respect Nature to the best of our ability by accomodating with it and accept some of its laws and realities.
Chargement ...