The biodiversity is the natural diversity of the living organisms.
Since the storm Klaus, a diversification's provision has appeared. Its aim is to finance projects which will encourage biological diversity.
What are the benefits of biodiversity for the foresters?
The biodiversity allows the ecosystem of the Landes forest to function in a balanced way. It contributes to the diminution of health risks on the Maritime Pine population. The preservation of biodiversity is compatible with the production activity of the Landes' forest. Each plot of forest hasn't got the vocation of housing the maximum of species. Each forester needs therefore to establish priorities: the species, the populations or the most important habitats to keep.
The different actions to maintain and vary biodiversity:
- Manage the already existing hardwoods: This concerns the forests ‘edges, hardwood copses, semi thickets, riparian, and mixed- woods forests. Diversity plays an important role in the functioning of the ecosystem of the pine forest. It is a shelter for birds, and also for insects' predators. In addition, it is also a good environment for the development of edible mushrooms.
- Creation of hardwood forests: This regards the forests' edges, hardwood clusters as well as waterways' banks. The varieties must be chosen according to the type of Landes. Like for the management of hardwood areas, this is beneficial to the auxiliaries' species. The health risk diminishes. The trees must be protected, which leads to higher costs. For quite some time, Planfor produces hardwood plants to enhance the diversification of the varieties of the Landes forest.
- Protection of the lagoons, ponds and small wet depressions: They are the reference of the water resources, but they are also vulnerable and diminishing. The lagoons are rather rare environments which highlight the exceptional diversity of the Landes of Gascogne's forest.
- Maintain open environments: They bring in additional biodiversity to the forest. It allows improving the housing capacity of the deers, which diminishes damages on the young trees.
These areas must be looked after.
What can we do beyond the plan Chablis?
- keep the hardwood in the forests edges (and in the lower floors) Maritime Pine forests.
- Improve the silvicultural quality of the hardwood populations (thinning out, coppice management...)
- Open areas must be maintained in order to control the colonisation (Clearing, cutting...)
- In wet areas, a tree-free zone must be kept at a distance of 10 to 50 m. It is also necessary to remove the tree tops and the persistent.
