LTSER Zone Atelier Plaine et Val de Sevre - France

The LTSER Zone Atelier Plaine & Val de Sèvre belongs to LTER-France network and is located in the Poitou-Charentes Region, Western France (46°11’N, 0°28’W, 43m average altitude). The main interests of this zone lie in its large size and the historical data related to monitoring of land use by the CNRS-CEBC over the past 26 years (1994 onwards). The site is bordered by the town of Niort to the north, and Chizé forest massif to the south. Approximately 28,000 inhabitants live in the area, in c. 40 villages. The study area size is 45,000 ha, of calcareous plains which are subjected to a warm-temperate oceanic climate. With a mean annual precipitation of 840 mm and regular summer dryness, mixed oak forests would be the potentially natural vegetation. Rain is scarce in summer. Woodlands are mostly reduced to small and scattered remnant patches (mean patch size = 1.87 ha) and hedgerows are widespread in some areas especially in the cattle breeding sectors. Woods are composed of medium-sized trees, maple, ash, cherry or oak (Acer, Fraxinus, Prunus cerasus or Quercus), with a strong presence of elm (Ulmus). Some of the main human derived landscape features of this area are a suburban zone in the North including many garden areas, a motorway on a North-South axis carrying heavy road traffic, and an electricity substation creating a concentration of high voltage power lines in some areas. The ZAPVS aims to elaborate an alternative agricultural system to the productivist model, for ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources.