Ambrosia Forest in Villars-sur-Var is a Terre de Liens farm converting 3.7 ha of abandoned vineyard terraces into a regenerative fruit landscape. In 2024, farmers Morgane and Xavier began a sponge strategy to slow, spread and sink stormwater. Works include one pond, 253 m of contour swales in a keyline layout, new hedgerows and a multistrata syntropic plot with permanent mulches and green manures. Goals are to reduce erosion on steep clay soils, rebuild soil life and create productive habitat.

The project received 50,000 euros from the Festival de Cannes environmental call with Fondation Terre de Liens. Volunteers and schools support planting days with partners such as Des Enfants et des Arbres.

Site diagnosis showed compacted soils and fast runoff from terraces. During the October 2024 floods the swales and pond captured flows and no rilling was observed on treated plots. Maintenance includes post storm checks and mulch renewal. Microbial monitoring is planned.

Expected outcomes are higher infiltration, improved structure, more biodiversity and resilient fruit production. The approach is low tech and transferable to Mediterranean mountain farms with terraces when design follows local contours and storm sizing.

EIP-AGRI Operational Group “DaLeA” tested a clover-based permanent living mulch interplanted with arable main crops to suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, retain water and minimise tillage, while assessing feasibility, transferability and economics across three years and three sites.

Low-tech regeneration of functional processes in waterways and wetlands based on beaver ecology and differentiated management of driftwood and woody debris. A gentle, non-intrusive, adaptable, and reversible operation. The project was carried out on the Lierne and Véore rivers (Drôme, France) to restore degraded river sections by using low-tech structures inspired by beaver dams. Over three one-week phases (spring 2023 and twice in spring 2024), river agents from Valence Romans Agglo built around fifteen structures using only local wood and hand tools. These interventions aimed to reconnect incised channels with their alluvial terraces and rehydrate former side channels. The works were performed without heavy machinery or imported materials, during a practical training led by Association Rivière Rhône Alpes Auvergne (ARRA²). Visible results include lateral river reactivation, aggradation of the riverbed, slower flows, and restored hydrological complexity. Several secondary channels and wetland areas have been permanently reconnected. The site now shows a clear diversification of aquatic, subaquatic, and wetland habitats, including backwaters, forest ponds, sediment deposits, and newly humidified vegetation zones.