Woodland discovery trail

11 points of interest

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  Flora

  The bocage, a landscape of fields and hedgerows

  The bise, a cold north wind, often blows in the Champsaur valley. The hedges in this landscape protect the crops from drying out and being flattened. This is a livestock rearing region, and the meadows provide hay for the winter. Cereals supplement the cattle's feed.
  Part of the network of farmland irrigation canals still remains. Due to lack of maintenance, some of the canals have dried out and become invaded by weeds and shrubs.

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  Water

  Water courses in the Champsaur

  Due to its geographical situation, the Champsaur has always lacked water in the summer. Yet it is crossed by the Drac Noir, the Drac Blanc, the Séveraisse which flows from the Valgaudemar valley and the Séveraissette which drains the Molines valley. These rivers rise in the mountains. So a water resource exists; it just has to be brought to the crops.

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  Flora

  The ash tree

  This is incontestably the tree that has most shaped the hedgerows of the Champsaur. Its etymology confirms this: in Greek « phraxis » means « hedge ».
  It is a tree with multiple uses. It is excellent for firewood and tool handles and is used by carpenters. Its leaves are gathered for forage. The ash tree can also be appreciated in a different way as frênette or ash cider. It is made with dried leaves as an infusion with the addition of sugar and baking yeast. The mixture is left to ferment for a while in barrels and then bottled, for a fresh and sparkling drink.

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  Flora

  Pollarded tree

  The oak can be regularly topped and cut back, giving it a pollarded habit. A pollarded tree is a tree with a short trunk topped by a "head" and a crown of branches. In addition to their landscaping aspect, oaks cut in this way provide a home for numerous animals. In fact, the small crevices in the trunk constitute a valuable shelter for many animal species. Cave-dwelling birds like owls make their nests in them. The hollow trunks often provide refuge for small mammals like bats or dormice. Many insects nest and find cover in them.
  In short, this is a tree with multiple uses which contributes to broad biodiversity.

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  Flora

  Protection of messicole plants in the Champsaur

  In the Champsaur, not only the poppy and the cornflower but also plants such as the corncockle, night-flowering catchfly, pheasant's eye and Venus's looking-glass can still be seen growing among the cereal crops. They are an indication of the restricted use of herbicides by some farmers, a practice to be encouraged from many points of view.

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  Fauna

  Wildlife in the bocage

  An astonishing diversity of wildlife thrives in the bocage - this mosaic of habitats made up of hedgerows, meadows, woods and wetlands. Here, you might come across butterflies, birds, yellow-bellied toads, badgers or even bats, as well as very varied plant life.
  It is a remarkable example of how the interests of agriculture and biodiversity can converge, where time-honoured practices are maintained without falling into the trap of intensive farming. Beware - fragile balance ahead!

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  Fauna

  Scarce large blue

  The scarce large blue is, in fact, a small blue butterfly of the genus Maculinea. These butterflies have a distinctive biology. First, the caterpillars need a specific host plant on which to feed and, second, they have to be collected by ants and taken into the ant nest, where they complete their development.
  This complex life cycle renders the species highly vulnerable to changes to their habitat and the Maculinea are regarded as threatened across the entire national territory and across Europe.
  There are four species of Maculinea in France, all protected. They are the subject of a national action plan which aims to better understand the conservation status of their populations and to protect their habitat.

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  Flora

  Messicole

  Plants growing among crops are often regarded in farming as «weeds», and therefore to be destroyed. Herbicides have proved to be highly effective, to the point of threatening the survival of these species and diminishing botanical diversity. This has meant that in many regions the poppy and the cornflower have disappeared from our grain fields, which are now a uniform gold at harvest time. These plants which grow alongside our crops are called «messicole» plants. Many are of Middle Eastern origin. Whether perennials or annuals, they are adapted to surviving - and even benefiting from - the working of the fields.

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  Water

  The irrigation canals and wet areas

  Gravity-fed irrigation canals were built in the Champsaur as far back as the Middle Ages. To avoid conflict, syndicates were formed to share out the water resource between the various users, as evidenced by letters of complaint which can be consulted in the departmental archives. These canals were dug directly into the ground, and some of the water flowing through them seeped into the earth, feeding springs and wet areas which contain adapted animal and plant species, some of which are in decline.

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  Fauna

  The arrival of deer

  Present in number in Le Dévoluy, deer regularly cross the Drac to make incursions into the hedged areas and fields. A few individuals are currently in the process of taking up residence on the left-hand bank of the Drac. Soon, the grunting bark of the deer will resonate from the cover of the hedgerows.

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  Know-how

  Maintenance of the canals

  The number of farmers is falling and it can be difficult to gather enough volunteers for collective maintenance operations. Especially because in some areas sprinkler systems have been installed, in which water is pumped through pipes under pressure, and reaches the crops as a fine rain. These recent developments are not without impact on the canals and the wetlands associated with them.