Conservation agriculture buffers the impact of irrigation on soil nematodes : a case study in Southern France /Biryol, Charlotte Wittling, C. Dominguez-Bohorquez, J. D. Diakhate, S. Hattenschwiler, S. Freschet, G. T. /Trap, Jean Soil health Soil food-web Water regime Tillage Mediterranean agroecosystem Understanding how crop management influence soil biodiversity is crucial for maintaining soil functions and long-term ecosystem health. Nematodes are key bioindicators of soil quality due to their sensitivity to both soil management and water availability. In Mediterranean regions, where drought events are becoming more frequent and intense under climate change, it is essential to identity practices that can buffer their effects. Here, we assessed the combined effect of crop management and irrigation on soil nematode communities in maize crops in southern France. The experiment compared four treatments: conservation agriculture (CA) vs. conventional tillage (CT), each under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Soil samples were collected in March 2022 (0-10 cm depth), and soil nematodes were extracted, counted and identified with subsequent calculation of community and functional indices. Total nematode density was 70% higher under CA compared to CT. Irrigation increased total nematode density (+30%) under CA plots, whereas it had a negative effect under CT plots. Under no-irrigation, CA maintained high predator densities and reduced plant-parasitic nematodes compared to CT. Consistently, irrigation under CT favored opportunistic and plant parasite taxa. Overall, our exploratory insights underlined that CA supports a more stable and complex soil food-web, helping to mitigate the disturbing effects of irrigation on soil nematode communities. These findings highlight CA as a promising strategy to enhance soil resilience to drought in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Larger sample sizes and repeated seasonal sampling would be needed to confirm and generalize these patterns. 2026 text https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010096988 fdi:010096988 Biryol Charlotte, Wittling C., Dominguez-Bohorquez J. D., Diakhate S., Hattenschwiler S., Freschet G. T., Trap Jean. Conservation agriculture buffers the impact of irrigation on soil nematodes : a case study in Southern France. 2026, 222, 107013 [6 p.] EN FRANCE ZONE MEDITERRANEENNE