Towards forests resilient to climate change – Recommendations & experiments
The Park recently published a guide for foresters and local elected officials. Entitled “Towards forests resilient to climate change”, this document recalls the context that our forests are currently facing in Périgord-Limousin, before detailing the experiments implemented by the Park and the general recommendations for proper consideration of change. climate in forest management.
Climate change in Périgord-Limousin
The climate of New Aquitaine warmed by around +1,4°C during the period 1959-2016 compared to the pre-industrial era (Source: Météo France). This warming will continue and the precipitation regime will be marked by a significant summer decrease. The climate will evolve towards Mediterranean characteristics: intense heat waves, reduction in river flow, reduction in the efficiency of groundwater recharge.
Direct consequences of these changes and the storms of 1982 and 1999, we observe entire sections of chestnut copses or spruce forests in decline in certain sectors of the Park.
General recommendations…
Faced with this observation, the guide recalls the reflexes to adopt in the event of worrying signs on a forest plot (mortality of branches, presence of a pest insect, etc.) and details 4 management recommendations, for greater resilience in the face of climate change. :
• Maintain and promote layered forest edges
• Promote existing biodiversity, provide refuge spaces for it
• Diversify species and preserve the soil
• Renew coppice stumps
…and ongoing experiments in the territory
The guide also goes into detail about the “Forest resilience to climate change” project carried out by the Park from January 2021 to October 2023. The objective of this project was the establishment of experimental forest plots, future showcase plots, intended to provide operational responses to the need to adapt our dying forests to climate change, without harming the other functions of the forest. The National Forest Property Center (CNPF) was selected, following a public consultation, to create the experimental site.
The site chosen for this experiment consists of 22 ha of old chestnut thickets, located in the town of Mareuil-en-Périgord in Dordogne. Over 12 ha, various silvicultural techniques for reclaiming silvicultural areas are currently being tested: planting a mixture of softwoods and hardwoods, planting by plots, by strips, etc. Integrated into the CNPF national monitoring network, these plots will be subject to monitoring over several decades, which will make it possible to identify the techniques most likely to strengthen the resilience of our local forests. 10 ha of control zones, preserved without silvicultural intervention, will allow us to have before our eyes the population as it would have been if there had not been these experimental plantations.
The project is co-financed by the France Relance plan (Biodiversity fund), by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and benefited from financial support from MaForêt.
Beyond this guide, the Park regularly organizes training for foresters (professionals and owners) and elected officials of the Park, in order to improve consideration of local issues linked to the forest (biodiversity, timber sector, leisure activities). , living environment, know-how, etc.).
