WO1998011302A1

WO1998011302A1 - Ground substratum and its uses

Info

Publication number: WO1998011302A1
Application number: PCT/FR1997/001610
Authority: WO
Inventors: Edmond-Pierre Auguste Henri Picard
Original assignee: Ynh
Priority date: 1996-09-11
Filing date: 1997-09-11
Publication date: 1998-03-19
Also published as: FR2753211A1; FR2753211B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a ground substratum and its uses. The ground substratum is characterised in that it comprises cork particles. The invention is useful for the creation or reconditioning of sports grounds, gardens and on the terraces of buildings or floating terraces.

Description

"Substrate for soil and its uses".

The invention relates to a soil substrate and its uses.

At present, apart from synthetic surfaces, the grounds of sports fields such as football, rugby, athletic tracks, tennis, equestrian or polo or golf surfaces are classified in two. main categories: they are either turfed, that is to say essentially made up of earth and turf, or stabilized, that is to say made up essentially of a mixture of earth, sand and / or shale.

However, these sports grounds have the disadvantage of compacting and becoming very hard, due to intensive trampling, the passage of maintenance equipment, etc. as well as natural or voluntary watering. In the case of grassed sports fields, compaction seriously harms the growth and maintenance of the lawn. In addition, on grassed or stabilized terrain, this can result in personal injury if the players fall.

This same compaction problem, with the associated drawbacks, is also encountered in horticultural soils, particularly in the case of perennial plantations.

The invention aims to overcome, in particular, the disadvantages described above related to soil compaction.

To this end, the invention provides a substrate for the creation or renovation of cultivable or stabilized soils prepared comprising at least 20% and up to 100%, by volume relative to the total volume of said composition, of cork particles, said cork particles being distributed in respective proportions included between 0 and 100% by volume relative to the total volume of the substrate, between cork particles with a fine particle size between 0.5 and 2 mm, cork particles with an average particle size between 2 mm and 8 mm and particles of cork with a coarse grain size of more than 8 mm.

The invention also proposes the use of this substrate for the creation or renovation of elaborate cultivable soils.

This cork can be cork that has undergone parboiling.

It can also be cork which has undergone steaming at around 80 ° C.

There may still be cork which has been expanded by cooking.

The substrate of the invention can also be a mixture of particles of raw cork and / or cork having undergone baking and / or cork which has been expanded by cooking.

In most applications of the invention, the cork particles represent from 20 to 80% of the total volume of the substrate. In this case, the remaining part of the substrate comprises, depending on the applications, soil, potting soil, humic matter, sand, silica sand with a particle size between 100 micrometers and 300 micrometers, earthworm compost, algo compost. forcing calibrated particles of rocks of volcanic origin, more particularly lava, zeolite, preferential ent of clinoptilolite, organic and humic matter, vermicompost, shale, filler sand, mosses, fibers, natural or synthetic sponges, trace elements, fertilizers, background fertilizers, alone or in a mixture of two or more.

However, the soil substrate of the invention can comprise up to 100% by volume, relative to the total volume of the substrate, of cork. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the substrate of the invention is packaged in suitable packaging for transport and sale to the general public.

The invention also proposes the use of the substrate for soil of the invention for the creation or the renovation of turfed sports fields.

The soil substrate of the invention can also be used for the creation or renovation of stabilized sports grounds.

It can also be used for the creation or renovation of plantable terraces of buildings or plantable terraces of floating gardens.

It can also be used for the creation or renovation of soils, of large area, for agricultural or horticultural vocation, especially for perennial plantations and more particularly for the filling of planting pits with trees and shrubs, or the installation of flower beds, perennials and shrubs.

It can also be used for growing in pots or planters.

For all these uses, the various components of the soil substrate of the invention can be mixed beforehand in the desired proportions and the mixture obtained is distributed over the application site.

Alternatively, the various components of the soil substrate of the invention are distributed over the application site in respective successive layers of constant thickness corresponding to the desired proportions of the final mixture, then the various layers are mixed.

Or, the cork particles, distributed in a non-homogeneous manner, from 0 to 100% by volume relative to the total volume of the substrate, between different layers of the cultivable soil developed to be created or to be renovated, are present in the soil in an amount such that the said particles, if they were separated from the constituents of the soil and spread over the same surface base would constitute a layer of cork of '' a minimum thickness of 2 cm.

More generally, the invention relates to the use of cork for the creation or renovation of cultivable or stabilized elaborate soils.

The invention lies in the incorporation of cork into soil substrates in order, in particular, to reduce the sensitivity of these soils to compaction.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear more clearly during the explanatory description which follows.

It is the contribution of cork, which because of its resilience properties, which are characterized by the ability of cork to decrease considerably in volume under the effect of mechanical pressure and to recover its volume almost instantly. origin as soon as the mechanical stress at the origin of its compression ceases, makes it possible to reduce the sensitivity to compaction of the soils in which the substrate of the invention is integrated.

Cork also makes it possible to give the soil thus developed flexibility and elasticity, which is particularly advantageous in the case of a sports field.

Also, the substrate for soil comprising cork of the invention gives the soil to which it is integrated a maximum and lasting porosity which allows good circulation of water and air and promotes the penetration, into the soil, of roots. plants you want to grow there. This is particularly advantageous in the case of perennial crops such as lawn, perennial borders, tree plantations or shrubs, these types of land that cannot be plowed without destroying the vegetation on the cultivated area.

Furthermore, cork has a very low density, generally between 0.03 and 0.15 g / cm ³ , which makes it possible to obtain a substrate of exceptional lightness. This characteristic is fundamental, whenever there is an infrastructure in which the weight of the substrate counts, in particular, in the case of plantable terraces of buildings or in the plantable terraces of floating gardens.

Once again, the low density of cork also makes it possible to create an environment favorable to root penetration or tillage.

In addition, its lightness makes it possible to decisively improve the handling and implementation of this type of substrate.

Cork is also a thermal insulator which makes the soil substrate of the invention particularly suitable for protecting bulbous plants, rootlets and roots against climatic variations and very particularly against cold and frost.

Cork is also a sound insulator which is an additional advantage in the case where the substrate of the invention is intended for the realization of plantable terraces of buildings which will thus benefit from thermal insulation in summer and winter and all 1 'year.

Cork is also a natural and organic product and its neutrality and non-toxicity known and attested by its millennial use in food packaging make cork a constituent which integrates into the soil by nature. In addition, cork has great dimensional stability and cork particles in the soil do not swell or shrink significantly depending on the temperature and humidity conditions so that the porosity does not disappear (unlike clay for example) by swelling and expansion.

Also, cork, dry or wet, is both non-slip and non-sticky.

This extraordinary property of cork makes it possible to obtain, thanks to the substrate of the invention, a soil which is less greasy and slippery when wet than soils for sports grounds hitherto known.

This property of cork also makes it possible to make the substrate for the floor of the invention easy to use: it "flows", it is fluid and does not agglomerate.

The soil substrate of the invention does not tend to clump together and turn into a continuum like clay does, since the cork particles on the substrate do not swell and do not stick together. to others ; on the contrary, the cork particles remain well individualized. However, the soil substrate of the invention nevertheless makes it possible to maintain its stability on the soil to which it is applied by opposing, due to the friction forces, the sliding of the particles with respect to each other.

In addition, cork is only slightly brittle and has little tendency to disintegrate under the effect of friction or mechanical stress or frost, unlike particles of shale or lava or expanded clay which disintegrates easily, generating fines which occupy the interstices and thus reduce the porosity. This capacity of the cork particles, particularly in the case of raw cork, to crumble only very difficult under the effect of mechanical forces or abrasion, is very important. Finally, although of vegetable origin, cork is generally considered to be rot-proof.

Thus, the substrate for soil of the invention makes it possible to create a soil which has a high resistance over time.

On the other hand, cork has advantageous aesthetic effects and it is vegetable in nature. Thus its natural color and texture participate in the beautification of the environment.

In summary, the soil substrate of the invention, by the incorporation of cork, has many properties such as flexibility, lightness, resistance to compaction and maximum porosity, aesthetic appearance.

Therefore, the soil substrate of the invention can be used for the creation and renovation of turfed or stabilized sports fields, for the creation or renovation of plantable terraces of buildings or floating terraces, for the creation or Soil renovation of large surfaces for horticultural use as well as for growing in pots or planters.

This is achieved by choosing appropriately for each of these applications, the proportion of cork, the distribution of the types and sizes of the cork particles and finally the nature of the complement to the cork in the substrate of the invention.

At present, with regard to the distribution of the types and sizes of cork particles, it has been found that preferably the soil substrate of the invention has adequate properties when the particles of the mixture are distributed between particles of raw cork with a fine particle size between 0.5 and 2 mm, particles of expanded cork by cooking with an average particle size of 2 to 8 mm and particles of expanded cork by cooking with a coarse particle size of 8 to 15 mm. The cork which is used in the invention is preferably a cork coming from the waste of the cork industry which is prepared in an industrial and traditional way by steaming the cork boards at 80 ° C for several hours, which sterilizes it but especially which gives cork its mechanical properties and in particular flexibility. We are therefore dealing with a particularly clean material. Its color is a light and blonde color, like corks.

The cork expanded cork which is used in the invention is preferably a cork heated to 300 ° C., which makes it possible to "sweat" the substance which agglomerates naturally if desired. This product therefore has exceptional cleanliness and is free of germs due to its treatment at very high temperatures. Its color is blackish-brown like humus.

Preferably, lightly cooked cork will be used because the cork becomes more and more brittle as it expands. By choosing very undercooked expanded cork, a very favorable compromise is obtained because the cork then retains excellent flexibility and mechanical strength. In addition, the density of expanded cork decreases significantly, which further reduces the weight of the soil substrate of the invention, and the insulation coefficients are further increased while the strength, dimensional stability, the coefficient friction, hydrophobicity, are generally maintained.

Preferably, at least 20% by volume relative to the total volume of the substrate, of expanded cork or parboiled cork or of a mixture of parboiled and foamed cork, will be used for the substrate of the invention.

Fine particles and especially between 0.5 and

1 mm are made up of open cells which are able to absorb more than 2/3 of their volume of water and the portion of the substrate formed by fine particles is therefore particularly advantageous for constituting a reserve of water available for vegetation.

On the contrary, medium and a fortiori coarse particles do not absorb water in depth but only a modest amount on the surface because the volume of the particles consists of a juxtaposition of airtight sealed cells, of an approximate size of 40μ m, and only the surface cells, damaged by grinding and grinding and therefore open, fill with water. These medium and possibly coarse particles are therefore well draining and the portion of the substrate formed by medium and coarse particles constitutes the skeleton of the substrate, giving it its qualities of maximum porosity.

All this means that the cork substrate can consist only of fine or medium or coarse particles as long as it makes it possible to obtain a skeleton with the appropriate porosities.

Concerning the proportion of cork in the mixture and the complement to bring in the substrate, one can use up to 100% of cork by using enough fine particles for a sufficient water retention and one obtains an exceptionally light substrate but it is necessary frugal plants or feed the plants because there is no reserve or humic matter. In addition, this substrate cannot be suitable for sports applications since the substrate does not have enough consistency. Furthermore, lightness is an advantage but the substrate must be ballasted and bound to be applied on even slight slopes, to avoid the disappearance of the substrate carried by the runoff, or its disappearance carried by the wind on terraces exposed to the wind, especially if the plant cover is unable to maintain the substrate in the event of dynamic depression caused by a strong draft. This will be resolved by the addition of other materials as will be discussed below. We can also use cork in small quantities and in particular the thin part which is very light and allows a blotting effect and a significant water retention without swelling and without saturating water.

Preferably, a proportion of cork representing 20% to 80% of the total volume of the substrate will be used and the remaining part will comprise, depending on the use, other elements such as for example earth or potting soil and sand or particles. calibrated from rocks of volcanic origin, and more particularly zeolite, or organic matter and more particularly humic matter and especially vermicompost, very rich in soil bacteria or shale or filléπse sand or mosses or sponges natural or synthetic or trace elements or background fertilizers or a mixture of two or more of the components listed above.

The soil substrate is a mixture of components specially adapted to the various applications of the invention, but the effectiveness of cork requires a minimum volume proportion of 20% and preferably should be at least 40% to 50% of the volume. .

For sports grounds, a large quantity of cork, preferably 30% to 70%, will preferably be used, of which the cork particles of medium or coarse grain size can be very slightly cooked cork or even raw, like fine particles, to promote the greatest mechanical resistance, to which we will add elements such as sand, earth or lava or ideally zeolite and vermicompost for lawn soils. The preferred zeolite is clmoptilotite.

For stabilized soils, we will add elements such as shale or filléπsé sand, that is to say sand to which are added and homogeneously mixed fine dry particles which do not prevent the sand from flowing and be spread when dry and swell to create the binder and stabilize the soil when it is watered.

For perennial beds or plantations of trees and shrubs, we can use 20% to 40% of cork and humic matter or compost and more preferably sand called "Fontainebleau sand" or "sand Etampes "which consists of pure silica, with a particle size of the order of 100 to 200 μm, and which is fine enough to retain water and" stay fresh "while being coarse enough to" drink in tall". The pH of the soil in place and the preferences of the plantations chosen will also be taken into account to correct the mixture accordingly. The advantage of climatic protection of the roots can be decisive in winter for a whole range of sensitive plants, especially by choosing a coarse grain size of the cork to avoid the retention of water in the soil.

For terraces, it may be beneficial to use 75% or more of cork by volume for a very low density to ballast and bind and increase the cation exchange capacity with a little lava and humic matter. We will favor the fine part and the humic matter or on the contrary the average fraction by avoiding the humic matter according to the type of vegetation desired (low arid vegetation, heather earth plants ...) and the climate

(wind, temperatures, rainfall) and the specific constraints (thickness, cost, need to isolate or protect the seal, possibilities of drainage and watering, accessibility ...) and all the constraints of a terrace.

In summary, beyond the anti-compacting effect, cork brings certain additional and advantageous properties which have a different importance according to the type of soil that one wants to create. In all cases the cork has a pleasant aesthetic appearance because the expanded cork looks like earth and the raw cork looks like sand.

In the case of the creation or renovation of a sports floor, there is a flexible, soft, non-slippery floor with no sharp edges, which is particularly advantageous in the event of a player's fall . In addition, by its elasticity and flexibility, the sports surface can help improve sports performance and ball rebound.

In the case of building terraces, the cork not only makes it possible to avoid compact soil but also to lighten the substrate, which easily makes it possible to increase the thickness of the deposited layer and to no longer fear the plants to pivoting roots which damage the bituminous seals under the layers of gravel: at the same time, by the coefficient of thermal insulation, the layer of substrate provides perfect insulation which is very appreciable on a building terrace.

In the case of horticulture and in particular of the plantations of trees, shrubs and perennials and bulbs or for the culture in pots or planters, the cork makes it possible to obtain the fundamental fact of maintaining a flexible and ventilated soil to root penetration but also has the advantages mentioned above of being a good thermal insulator and of a pleasant aesthetic appearance; for growing in pots in particular or in large tanks, for orange trees or oleanders, the substrate allows easier movement of the tanks and protection against the cold arriving on the roots through the wall of the tank.

In any case, the soil which will have been created using the soil substrate of the invention will have a high durability due to its abrasion resistance and rot-proof properties. In all cases, and as has already been said, cork is easy to use because of its low density and its fluidity and its miscibility. The different cork fractions may be mixed together and the cork with the other constituents of the soil substrate of the invention off-site and before application and then distributed on the site.

In this case, the soil substrate of the invention will be presented mixed in packaging suitable for transport. More particularly when the soil substrate of the invention is intended for use in pots or planters, the packaging will be chosen appropriate for sale to the general public.

In all cases, but more particularly for large areas, it is possible to spread layers of each of the constituents of the composition or of the soil substrate of the invention separately, the respective thicknesses of which will make it possible to obtain the desired proportions of the different constituents of the composition of the invention.

We can also mix the different layers spread separately or just mix some of these layers together, using a machine of the rake or rotavator type or vibrating or rotary harrow.

Thus the cork can be distributed vertically in the ground in a timely and not necessarily homogeneous manner and layers with a relatively high proportion of cork can be interposed with other layers of the cultivable soil produced having a proportion of cork that is lower or zero.

Thus, in most applications, the composition produced should not be understood as a homogeneous mixture but as a top-down distribution of different layers, the respective proportions of different constituents corresponding judiciously to the needs of the plants as a function of the depth, as will be seen in a few examples below.

As in an analysis of soil on a sports field, the proportions of the composition correspond to the proportions that one would obtain by mixing the earth over ten centimeters.

Regarding the anticompacting effect linked to the series of small dampers that constitute the cork granules, the vertical distribution of the cork will be chosen to optimize the effect where desired, but it is at least necessary, to obtain a significant effect, that the number of granules encountered from top to bottom is sufficient so that the sum of the amplitudes of absorption is itself sufficient.

The effectiveness of cork requires that the quantity of cork present in the soil is sufficient for this cork, supposedly separated from the other constituents of the soil and spread on the same surface base, to accumulate over a minimum height of 2 cm. Preferably, at least 1 cm of the cork height will consist of steamed cork or expanded cork or a mixture of the two.

This minimum quantity of cork can be that for example of a homogeneous mixture with 20% of cork on 10 cm of soil but can also be obtained for example with a layer of 2 cm of pure cork under 3 cm of soil between the layer of cork and the surface and 5 cm of potting soil under the cork layer between the cork layer and the bottom of the form.

Thus, in the case of transplanting a heavy tree, it may be particularly advantageous to dig a deep pit, with a diameter equal to at least 2 times the diameter of the root ball and a depth equal to the size of the root ball plus 1.10 meters: the lower meter is filled with a homogeneous mixture of fine sand at 20 μm with 20% to 30% of cork and 5% of algoforestry compost; above this well ventilated and scratched layer, we put 20 cm of fine and medium cork plus 20% potting soil and we put the root ball on it and we fill the pit with dense, coherent and still permeable earth, taking care to soak for soak the cork in water at the level of the root ball.

In this case, the judicious position of the cork will allow the roots to come out of the root ball without the weight of the tree compressing the surface between the root ball and the soil and will allow the underlying substrate to be perfectly aerated, this which will allow very rapid colonization, by the roots, of this nourishing volume while the whole will be anchored by the weight of the earth around the root ball to the surface.

In the case of a large container, in the orange container style, it may be advisable to install pure expanded expanded cork of medium and coarse grain size at the bottom of the container and to fill above with a mixture of potting soil and cork. fine particle size and medium particle size, the cork representing between 50% and 80% and the soil comprising algoforestry compost or vermicompost.

In the case of a terrace, for example, it may be appropriate to install at the bottom of the planters pure expanded cork of medium grain size which will make a draining layer and above it will be installed a light soil made of raw cork of fine grain size and average with 5% of algoforestry compost and possibly silica sand at 200μm as well as zeolite, sand and zeolite representing from 0% to 70% of the volume according to the constraints of weight, budget and handling. It can be interesting on the surface, to install a slightly more sandy and humic layer which will allow ballasting to germinate and make the surface more coherent.

In the case of a sports field under construction, it may be interesting to install on the bottom of the form and the possible draining layer which can be made of medium cork, a screed of about 15 cm made up of a suitable mixture of earth and sand and into which 20 to 30% of raw and medium cork could preferably have been incorporated and overcome this screed with medium and fine raw cork 3 to 4 cm thick; above this cushioning layer of cork, it should be ballasted with a layer of 2, 3 or 4 cm of light earth, which may include cork and sand and on which the grass is located. In another embodiment, a sod can be installed directly on the cork after a simple sanding.

In the case where it is desired to renovate a sports field, pure cork or a mixture with the other ingredients of the soil substrate of the invention lends itself to spreading and adjustment as conventionally used for sab1e.

The incorporation of cork on the ground by carrotage, spreading of the cork granules and the incorporation by passage of rule are quite feasible and will allow to give the desired flexibility at the level of the roots and young seedlings if a perforation sowing is practiced .

Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments which have been described and given solely by way of nonlimiting examples.

Thus, the invention can be implemented by bringing only cork particles to the ground to be created or renovated and by mixing these particles with the earth or with the already existing soil.

This means that the invention includes all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if these are carried out according to the spirit.

Claims

RESELL I CATIONS

1. Substrate for the creation or renovation of cultivable or stabilized soils developed, characterized in that it comprises at least 20% and up to 1001, by volume relative to the total volume of the substrate, of cork particles, said particles of cork distributed in respective proportions of between 0 and 100% by volume relative to the total volume of the substrate, between cork particles with a fine particle size between 0.5 and 2 mm, cork particles with an average particle size between 2 mm and 8 mm and coarse-grained cork particles larger than 8 mm.

2. Use of the substrate according to claim 1 for the creation or renovation of cultivable or stabilized soils developed.

3. Use according to claim 2, characterized in that said particles are made of cork having undergone baking.

4. Use according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said particles are cork expanded cork.

5. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said substrate comprises a mixture of raw cork, and / or having undergone baking and / or having been expanded by cooking.

6. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the cork particles represent from 20 to 80% of the total volume of said substrate and in that the remaining part comprises soil, potting soil, sand , silica sand with a particle size between 100 micrometers and 300 micrometers, calibrated particles of rocks of volcanic origin, zeolite, organic and humic matter, vermicompost, algo-forest compost, shale, filler sand , foams, fibers, natural or synthetic sponges, trace elements, background fertilizers, alone or in a mixture of two or more.

7. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the cork particles represent 100% of the total volume of said substrate.

8. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 7 for the creation or renovation of turfed or stabilized sports fields.

9. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 7 for the creation or renovation of plantable terraces of buildings or floating garden terraces.

10. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 7 for the creation or renovation of soils for agriculture or horticulture, the filling of planting pits with trees and shrubs, the installation of flower beds. bulbs, perennials and shrubs.

11. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 7 for the creation or renovation of soils for growing in pots or planters.

12. Use according to any one of claims 8 to 11 characterized in that the different components of the soil substrate are first mixed together in the desired proportions and that this mixture is then spread on the application site.

13. Use according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the various components of the soil substrate are distributed on the application site in successive layers of constant thickness corresponding to the desired proportions of the final mixture, then mixed .

14. Use according to any one of claims 2 to 13, characterized in that the cork particles, distributed in a non-homogeneous manner in the soil so that the local volume proportion of the cork particles relative to the other constituents of the soil can vary from 0% to 100% depending on the location in the cultivable or stabilized soil developed to be created or to be renovated, will be present in said soil in an amount such that said particles, if they were separated from the other constituents of the soil and spread over the same base of surface, would constitute a layer of cork with a minimum thickness of 2 cm.