Utilisation de cartes prédictives pour améliorer la prise en compte de la contrainte hydrique dans le choix des essences

We computed the edaphic water balances for France using spatialised climatic and edaphic data which we assessed as being spatially the most precise and the most relevant. On the basis of these balances, we identified and spatialised fourteen water availability indexes for plants using a digital mapping tool. The capacity of each index to predict the distribution of the major forest species was tested so as to identify the index with the highest explanatory value for this distribution. The index thus selected was mapped on the scale of the limestone tablelands of Champagne-Ardenne, Bourgogne and Lorraine. The pros and cons of incorporating this map into site catalogues and guides for the purposes of adapting them to climate changes are discussed.