The forest
In Périgord-Limousin, the forest occupies 68 ha, or 000% of the Park's territory. These are essentially deciduous forests, the main species of which are oaks and chestnuts. This wooded network is a true biological corridor for many large mammals.
THE CHESTNUT groves
The chestnut thicket is the dominant forest formation in the Park, even if two-thirds of it is mixed with oak forests and pines. In addition to chestnut trees and noble oaks, the main hardwood species encountered in the Park are common hornbeam, hazel, silver birch in the windthrows… and locally beech. In the undergrowth are the prickly broom or small holly, the rowan tree, the bracken and buck fern, the spring squill, the hyacinth and the wood anemone, the wood thorn with small purple flowers, the grass geranium -à-Robert, the meadow melampyre, the avens, whose hooked fruits cling to the fur of animals which thus ensure their dissemination. Honeysuckle surrounds the trunks of the chestnut trees and lichens cover those of the sessile oak.
PUBESCENT OAK groves
The downy oak grove results from the enrichment of dry lawns. Located in the limestone environments of the southwest of the Park, it nevertheless represents 6,5% of the latter's forest surface. Very unproductive, it is often installed on sloping ground, which makes it difficult to exploit.
SLOPE FORESTS
On the almost outcropping rocks of the slopes of the Gorre, Dronne, Isle and Bandiat gorges, forests have developed. Depending on the exposure and the nature of the soil which govern the availability of water, the environments can be hot and dry and then dominated by the lime tree, or cool and humid with a backdrop of the common ash, the mountain elm and the maples. Very sensitive, ferns are abundant there with rare species such as the centipede protected in Haute-Vienne, aspidiums with stiff or lobed cilia, dilated polystic...
ALUVIAL FORESTS
The forests that flourish along watercourses are of a completely different nature. Composed of species that appreciate humid environments and withstand temporary flooding, they are called alluvial or riparian forests. These are very rich environments, which host a diverse flora and fauna. Deciduous trees dominate there. These are generally alder-ash groves. The black alder and the common ash are accompanied by the country elm, but also ash willows, poplars, sycamore maples...