ABSTRACT

Numerous studies show that the evolution of cultivation practices, due to the mechanization of agriculture, has led to diminished water infiltratability as well as augmented soil erosion. Agricultural crops and related industries are widely developed locally. The large farms of the past, composed of large plots, covering large areas and at the forefront of French agriculture for several centuries, are hardly different from others. The permanence of agrarian landscapes in former grain-growing regions and open-field regions, such as Mantois, serve in the northwest Parisian basin to moderate the consequences of runoff and water erosion. The major cultivations on the silty plains of northern Europe have, for several decades, experienced an intensification of soil erosion by water, giving rise to loss of soil fertility and harmful muddy floods. In terms of global production, France is the leading European agricultural nation. French agricultural production accounts for 24% of all European Union production, making France the second largest agricultural producer worldwide.