* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Drew Brees opens Surge Entertainment Center in Metairie hot spot for new businesses – NOLA.com

    Drew Brees Unveils Exciting New Surge Entertainment Center in Metairie!

    Will Gio Stay Or Go On May 27 General Hospital? – Yahoo

    Will Gio Make a Shocking Exit on May 27th’s General Hospital

    First look: Disney shows star villains, Little Mermaid, tech – Yahoo

    Unveiling Disney’s Dark Side: A Sneak Peek at Iconic Villains, The Little Mermaid, and Cutting-Edge Technology!

    Fans Call Out Disney For Cutting Favorite ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Character: ‘It Makes Me Want to Cry’ – Yahoo

    Disney Fans Heartbroken Over the Cut of Beloved ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Character: ‘It Makes Me Want to Cry

    Oh My Girl’s sister group USPEER from WM Entertainment introduces individual members with high-energy clips for ‘Speed Zone’ debut – allkpop

    Get Ready to Meet USPEER: Oh My Girl’s Sister Group Unveils Dynamic Members in ‘Speed Zone’ Debut Clips!

    Ways to save money on entertainment and travel this summer – CBS News

    Smart Strategies to Slash Your Summer Entertainment and Travel Costs!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

    MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

    Technology Driving Performance: How Elite MA Plans Leverage Data, Care Coordination, and Advanced Analytics to Thrive Amid CMS’s Rigorous 2025 Standards, Black Book – Newswire.com

    Unlocking Success: How Top MA Plans Harness Data and Analytics to Excel Under CMS’s 2025 Standards

    Arqit acquires Ampliphae’s technology IP, enhancing its global encryption portfolio – GlobeNewswire

    Arqit Boosts Global Encryption Portfolio with Strategic Acquisition of Ampliphae’s Technology IP

    Searenergy partners with Tethys Robotics on subsea inspection technology – Windtech International

    Searenergy partners with Tethys Robotics on subsea inspection technology – Windtech International

    China successfully tests new-gen satellite-to-ground data transmission technology – Global Times

    China successfully tests new-gen satellite-to-ground data transmission technology – Global Times

    Wireless Connectivity Technology Market Set to Witness – openPR.com

    Exploring the Future: Wireless Connectivity Technology Market Poised for Remarkable Growth!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Drew Brees opens Surge Entertainment Center in Metairie hot spot for new businesses – NOLA.com

    Drew Brees Unveils Exciting New Surge Entertainment Center in Metairie!

    Will Gio Stay Or Go On May 27 General Hospital? – Yahoo

    Will Gio Make a Shocking Exit on May 27th’s General Hospital

    First look: Disney shows star villains, Little Mermaid, tech – Yahoo

    Unveiling Disney’s Dark Side: A Sneak Peek at Iconic Villains, The Little Mermaid, and Cutting-Edge Technology!

    Fans Call Out Disney For Cutting Favorite ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Character: ‘It Makes Me Want to Cry’ – Yahoo

    Disney Fans Heartbroken Over the Cut of Beloved ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Character: ‘It Makes Me Want to Cry

    Oh My Girl’s sister group USPEER from WM Entertainment introduces individual members with high-energy clips for ‘Speed Zone’ debut – allkpop

    Get Ready to Meet USPEER: Oh My Girl’s Sister Group Unveils Dynamic Members in ‘Speed Zone’ Debut Clips!

    Ways to save money on entertainment and travel this summer – CBS News

    Smart Strategies to Slash Your Summer Entertainment and Travel Costs!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

    MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

    Technology Driving Performance: How Elite MA Plans Leverage Data, Care Coordination, and Advanced Analytics to Thrive Amid CMS’s Rigorous 2025 Standards, Black Book – Newswire.com

    Unlocking Success: How Top MA Plans Harness Data and Analytics to Excel Under CMS’s 2025 Standards

    Arqit acquires Ampliphae’s technology IP, enhancing its global encryption portfolio – GlobeNewswire

    Arqit Boosts Global Encryption Portfolio with Strategic Acquisition of Ampliphae’s Technology IP

    Searenergy partners with Tethys Robotics on subsea inspection technology – Windtech International

    Searenergy partners with Tethys Robotics on subsea inspection technology – Windtech International

    China successfully tests new-gen satellite-to-ground data transmission technology – Global Times

    China successfully tests new-gen satellite-to-ground data transmission technology – Global Times

    Wireless Connectivity Technology Market Set to Witness – openPR.com

    Exploring the Future: Wireless Connectivity Technology Market Poised for Remarkable Growth!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Provence’s iconic lavender fields may soon look very different

June 20, 2023
in Science
Provence’s iconic lavender fields may soon look very different
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Travel

The postcard image that lights up our social media feeds each summer must change to survive the dual threat of disease and climate change.

ByChrissie McClatchie

Published June 19, 2023

• 7 min read

Every summer, millions of travelers venture to the sun-drenched French region of Provence. One of its biggest draws? Symmetrical fields of sweet-scented, violet-hued lavender.  Images of them light up social media feeds come late June to July. But if this aromatic plant—and everything it represents in French culture—is to thrive in the future, this postcard backdrop needs to change.

Due to high temperatures, low rains, and pest infestations, the $55 million lavender industry is nearing a breaking point. To protect it and its role in French culture, local growers, scientists, and business owners have come together to create the Fonds de Dotation Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Lavandes en Provence (Fonds SPLP), an endowment that is funding pollinator protection, planting pest-resistant hybrids, and adding irrigation systems.

For visitors, the most tangible change will be how the lavender fields look. The future is less manicured, with other blooming flora growing alongside the violet plants. This will help nurse the soil back to health, providing nourishment to the lavender plants and increasing its carbon store. 

“It’s a changing vision of what lavender is,” says Justine Humbert, engineer and sustainable sourcing manager at Provence-headquartered beauty brand L’Occitane en Provence.

Here’s how visitors can experience these blooms responsibly.

An emblematic image

Lavender became a commercial crop in France as the perfume industry blossomed in the 19th century in Grasse, located in Provence’s Alpine region. Today, around 1,700 producers throughout Provence cultivate approximately 62,000 acres of two varieties of the plant: lavender (used in perfume and cosmetics), and lavandin, a longer-stemmed hybrid that scents household products. 

But climate change is bringing or accelerating a range of problems for lavender farmers. Hotter summers are increasing the insect population, including destructive Cixiidae, mini leafhoppers related to the cicada. They devastate crops, both by eating plants and transmitting a disease called stolbur phytoplasma, first discovered in 1970. It disfigures the plants and cuts their typical lifespan from 10 years to just three or four. 

(How to plan an artlovers’ road trip through Provence.)

The climate crisis brings other effects, too. “Drought is impacting lavender crops,” says Humbert. “Even if [lavender] is adapted to difficult territories, it needs a minimum of water.” 

A new vision

Founded in 2012, Fonds SPLP helped develop two new varieties of dieback-resistant lavender, called MILA 2 and ETERNELLE 2. “Both are currently in the testing stage with producers,” says Charlotte Bringer-Guerin, coordinator at the Fonds SPLP.

In addition, agroecology—planting cover crops between the rows of lavender—is emerging as a way to protect the prized blooms. “Plant covers have the advantage of retaining humidity and micro-acclimatizing the plots to make them more resilient,” says Humbert. Other plants, including tree nuts, legumes, and grains, act as barriers between the lavender and the cixiidae, preventing the transmission of the stolbur phytoplasma and protecting the soil from erosion and wind.

As they sprout, these cover crops are transforming the classic aesthetic into a less manicured scene where streaks of yellow, green, and other colors are threaded among the purple lavender bloom.

Resistant to change

Just over an hour’s drive northeast of Marseille, the 300-square-mile Plateau de Valensole, is one of the primary areas for lavender growing and tourism in Provence. After seeing his crops decline due to disease and drought, Yann Sauvaire is one of the few producers in the region to embrace agroecology.

(Nature is out of sync—discover what that could mean for the future.)

In some fields, he puts in native trees or lets grass sprout between the lavender. In others, he plants sainfoin, a legume that increases nitrogen levels in the soil.

Additional plants and trees have also benefitted animal life, with birds returning to the fields and sheep grazing on grass clumps between the lavender plants.

Still, the perceived costs of purchasing and maintaining cover crops has kept many farmers from fully embracing agroecology.

However, several farmers have adopted a half-in approach, planting cover crops for just a few months of the year. “This year, up to [1,000 acres] were sown in autumn and pulled up in spring because ‘postcard syndrome’ remains this physiological barrier,” Sauvaire says.

Beyond protecting the crops, residents want to safeguard lavender as a symbol of Provence. “It’s a cultural heritage we need to save,” says Bringer-Guerin. 

But this comes at a cost for tourists who come to the region to take their iconic, purple-drenched photos. To truly experience the scene, Humbert encourages visitors to put down their phones. “Don’t look at the scene through your screen. Listen, breathe—use all your senses,” she says. “Visually, we’re accustomed to perfectly aligned fields, but people are going to have to get used to new landscapes.”

What to know

The main lavender fields of Provence are centered between the Luberon and Verdon plateau regions to the north of Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, and to the east of Avignon.

The flowering period for lavender starts in mid-June and lasts until the end of August.

Several cities host lavender festivals during the summer, including Valensole Lavender Festival (July 16), Sault’s Fête de la Lavande (August 15), and Digne-les-Bains’ Corso of Lavender (August 4-8).

Learn about lavender distillation techniques from the early 1900s at the Musée de la Lavande in Cabrieres d’Avignon.

Travelers can use the Routes de la Lavande to create their own lavender bloom road trip.

Chrissie McClatchie is a French-Australian freelance travel writer and guidebook author based in Nice. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Go with Nat Geo: Sail southern France’s storied waterways on a Rhône River Cruise with Nat Geo Expeditions.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/how-provences-lavender-fields-are-transforming-for-survival

Tags: iconicProvence’sscience
Previous Post

Notes from an author: Freya Bromley on swimming Britain’s tidal pools

Next Post

Atomic “Breathing” – A New Building Block for Quantum Technology

May 15 – Ecology proposes new updates to help industry transition to clean semi-trucks – Washington State Department of Ecology (.gov)

Ecology Unveils Exciting New Updates to Accelerate the Shift to Clean Semi-Trucks!

May 28, 2025
Earth’s core is ‘leaking’ gold, study finds – Live Science

Unlocking Earth’s Secrets: New Study Reveals Gold is ‘Leaking’ from the Core!

May 28, 2025
Reading Science Center awarded $175,500 Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit to double education space – Berks Weekly

Reading Science Center Secures $175,500 Tax Credit to Expand Educational Space!

May 28, 2025

Want to Live Long? Lifestyle Matters More Than Genes – Time Magazine

May 28, 2025
This City Was Named the World’s Fastest-growing Wealth Hub With 156 Centimillionaires and 22 Billionaires – Travel + Leisure

This City Was Named the World’s Fastest-growing Wealth Hub With 156 Centimillionaires and 22 Billionaires – Travel + Leisure

May 28, 2025
Five Things We Learned About…The Creator Economy From D&AD Festival – Creative Salon

Unlocking Insights: Five Key Takeaways on the Creator Economy from D&AD Festival

May 28, 2025
New Portland entertainment venue to begin construction in June – KGW

Exciting New Entertainment Venue Set to Break Ground in Portland This June!

May 28, 2025
Can domestic financing solve the global health funding crisis? – Devex

Can domestic financing solve the global health funding crisis? – Devex

May 28, 2025
Brian Hughes to become NASA Chief of Staff – Florida Politics

Brian Hughes Takes the Helm as NASA’s New Chief of Staff!

May 28, 2025
MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

MSE, DXC Technology expand tech partnership – Sports Business Journal

May 28, 2025

Categories

Archives

May 2025
MTWTFSS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 
« Apr    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (647)
  • Economy (660)
  • Entertainment (21,567)
  • General (15,246)
  • Health (9,702)
  • Lifestyle (663)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (662)
  • Politics (668)
  • Science (15,883)
  • Sports (21,167)
  • Technology (15,648)
  • World (648)

Recent News

May 15 – Ecology proposes new updates to help industry transition to clean semi-trucks – Washington State Department of Ecology (.gov)

Ecology Unveils Exciting New Updates to Accelerate the Shift to Clean Semi-Trucks!

May 28, 2025
Earth’s core is ‘leaking’ gold, study finds – Live Science

Unlocking Earth’s Secrets: New Study Reveals Gold is ‘Leaking’ from the Core!

May 28, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version