Matthieu Limongi, edited by Yanis Darras 7:21 a.m., May 19, 2022, modified at 7:23 a.m., May 19, 2022
Is clear cutting, which consists of cutting a forest over several hectares, still compatible with our biodiversity?
This is the question raised by the government and the "Canopée" association, which are increasingly concerned with the failure of replanting programs on French territory.
Faced with the difficulty of regrowth, some owners abandon their plots.
It is a nature reserve to which the French are attached.
However, forest biodiversity is threatened by the timber industry.
On the territory, 3/4 of the woods are located on private land, specifies the magazine
Le Pèlerin,
of which Europe 1 is a partner.
A godsend for their owners who do not hesitate to carry out clear cuts, a process which consists in completely cutting a plot of forest, from the top to the ground.
A practice that is sometimes necessary, but often abusive, consider environmental activists.
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"It hasn't grown back since the last cut. Now the soil is yellowed," says Sylvain Agerand, forest engineer and campaign coordinator for Canopée, an association that campaigns for more sustainable forestry.
In front of them stands a desert landscape.
However, here, as along this departmental road in the middle of the Sarthe, a few months ago stood a green forest, which hid the sun.
"Everything has been razed"
"Here we are in an educational situation. We are in a forest of one of the main representatives of the timber industry. And everything has been razed. There is no longer a single tree over several tens of hectares. And the most serious thing is that the stumps of the trees have been uprooted. The whole ecosystem is broken", underlines the forest engineer and campaign coordinator for Canopée.
Manufacturers prefer after a clear cut, monoculture.
The tree most often replanted is the Douglas fir, a conifer that grows quickly.
Easy to work, it is therefore very popular with the operators of our forests.
Industrial use therefore, which aggravates the consequences of climate change.
Climate impact
"When you raze a forest, you suddenly release the carbon that was stored in the trees and in the soil. the trees will grow back. Except that the second problem is that the young trees are put in the middle of the dodger and very often they die,' underlines Sylvain Agerand.
A finding also shared by the State.
In a report published in 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture noted an increase in the failure of Douglas fir regrowth after clear cutting between 2007 and 2019. And when these trees die, some plots, which have become unprofitable, are sometimes even, abandoned by their owners, specifies the association.
However, a more sustainable management of forests is possible according to "Canopée".
She thus advises to "make small holes" in the existing forest, so that the different varieties of trees can coexist and protect themselves, as well as abandoning the practice of clear cutting.