The growing awareness of the potential of traditional agricultural tec
hniques has resulted in a recent scientific interest in these techniqu
es. As modernisation and mechanisation often lead to the abandonment o
f these measures, it is vital to document them. Gravel mulching is suc
h a traditional technique that is still practised in Chamoson (souther
n Switzerland). As no written information about this technique in Cham
oson was found, an inquiry was set up amongst the wine-growers of Cham
oson. The main objective of this inquiry is to document gravel mulchin
g, based on the experiences of the wine-growers themselves. The result
s of the inquiry showed that these practitioners in Chamoson consider
the effects of the gravel mulch on the thermal (temperature) and hydra
ulic (infiltration and evaporation) characteristics of the soil, to be
the most important for wine-growing. In addition to the inquiry, fiel
d experiments were set up to investigate the effects of a gravel mulch
on soil temperature and evaporation during summer. The results of the
se experiments show that a gravel mulch causes a significant increase
in the soil temperature at two measured depths (mean increase of 0.97
degrees C at 3-cm depth and 1.5 degrees C at 10 cm; measuring period:
21/07/94-14/08/94) and at the surface (mean increase of 2.2 degrees C;
measuring period: 24 h). As for the effect on evaporation, field expe
riments show an increase of the cumulative evaporation depth, due to t
he presence of a gravel mulch. This unexpected result can be explained
when considering the soil characteristics of the mulched field (i.e.,
a very stony topsoil with a discontinuous mulch) and the rainfall reg
ime during the measuring period (limited amounts of rainfall; non-satu
rated soils). The results of the evaporation experiment in the field,
agree with the results from similar laboratory experiments reported in
the literature. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.