Résumé
BioROC is an interdisciplinary project funded by the regional challenge Water Occitany. It aims to improve knowledge on the biofilm control in the REUTE chain based on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and intended for irrigation. The research in this project focus on the efficiency assessment of innovative practices based on the Living Labs of Toulouse Métropole and Montpellier Métropole Méditerranée. The goal is to test a panel of NBS (+/- microbiodiversity enhanced by invertebrates) to identify the most suitable constructed wetlands (CWs) for reuse methods by drip-irrigation system. The challenges to be addressed are CWs’ clogging and fouling of fertigation systems by microbial biofilm. Indeed, biofilm quality is acting as a facilitator for the wastewater treatment but also as a limiting factor to the whole chain of process in water reuse by drip-irrigation. The heterotrophic biofilm that lives in the substrate media of CWs is the biological compartment that manages the biodegradation of pollutants from sewage water (Gérino et al., 2022). But it is a major constraint to water infiltration when it develops in excess with clogging effects in the filters and drip-irrigation system. The BioROc’s results will help to identify levers for action to control biofilm dynamics in drip-irrigation systems.