Towards climate-resilient forests – Experimental follow-up

In 2021, the Park developed a pilot project on a privately owned forest plot to identify forest management practices that promote forest resilience to climate change. In early March, forestry technicians from the National Center for Forest Ownership (CNPF) of Nouvelle-Aquitaine visited the site to assess the development of the plantations. They were accompanied by the Park's forestry intern.

The impact of climate change on the forests of Périgord-Limousin

The Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park is 41% covered in forests, primarily deciduous trees, particularly chestnut trees, an emblematic species of the region. These forests are 98% privately owned, with over 26,000 owners and forest areas fragmented into numerous plots. They represent a wealth of both economic, ecological and social.

Today, these forests face a real challenge, as the Périgord-Limousin region is not immune to the ongoing climate upheavals! The forests are directly impacted and therefore have need for supportt. Indeed, climate change is already weakening trees in a lasting way, by multiplying the causes of stress and promoting the proliferation of already present pathogens. This results in a stand aging; a phenomenon of waste away in the chestnut groves, aggravated by diseases; a water stress increased, as well as the amplification of the fire risk on the territory.

The "Forest Resilience to Climate Change" experiment

The "Forest Resilience to Climate Change" project, led by the Park, began in 2021. It aims to identify management solutions to support forest areas and help them cope with climate change and become more resilient. This has resulted in the implementation of experimental plots to reclaim dying woodlands, constituting "showcase plots" intended to test operational responses for forest adaptation.

The chosen site is located in the commune of Mareuil-en-Périgord, in the Dordogne department, and comprises 22 hectares of former chestnut coppice. For the experiment, the land was divided into different plots, including 10 hectares serving as "control areas." The objective of these 10 hectares is to record what the stand would have become without forestry intervention. The remaining 12 hectares were organized around different forestry techniques Reclaiming space: planting "in open areas" with a mixture of conifers and deciduous trees, planting "by plot" and "by strip", etc. booklet published by the Park summarizes the different silvicultural techniques tested on this plot.

Monitoring of the experiment

While the experiment was initiated by the Park, it was subsequently implemented by the CNPF (National Center for Private Forestry). The CNPF is also responsible for monitoring the plots, allowing this experiment to be used as an example of alternative forestry practices, with the aim of... to popularize the results among forest ownersThe planting of the plots took place during the winter of 2023-2024. One year later, the CNPF carried out recovery measurements to verify the survival rate of the plants.

In early March, the CNPF visited the site to measure the height of the trees (Dendrometric measurements). This day brought together about ten foresters from the CNPF Nouvelle Aquitaine as well as the forestry intern from the Park. Measurements were taken (from the base to the highest bud), the young age of the seedlings facilitating this task carried out using a measuring pole. At this stage, the plantations have heights highly variable On the different plots, the spacing ranges from 30 cm to 150 cm depending on the trees. As the plants are still very young, It is not possible to state at this time that their size is the result of a particular health condition.The CNPF will return to the site to measure the growth of the plantations in 2027 (3 years after planting), 2031 (7 years after planting), and 2034 (10 years after planting). Subsequently, surveys will be conducted every three years and will include measurements of trunk circumference and tree height.

These on-site measurements will eventually allow for the compilation of statistics to analyze the effectiveness of the tested forestry practices. The results will not be available for about ten years, as forestry experimentation takes place over a long period.