In the various municipalities affected by the fires that hit the Arrée mountains the week of July 18, the roads have now reopened, even if the firefighters are calling for great vigilance.
But on 1725 ha of heathland and fields ravaged by the flames, how can you best help rehabilitate this remarkable natural space, unique in France?
Both the State services and the municipalities are currently considering solutions and involving in this complex reflection an emblematic association for the protection of nature, itself a manager, in conjunction with the Parc Naturel Régional d'Armorique (PNRA), d part of the affected area.
“These landscapes are absolutely to be preserved.
The Monts d'Arrée are a total of 12,000 ha of moors out of the 14,000 ha found in the region.
They are home to very valuable biodiversity,” explains Alain Thomas, naturalist and former vice-president of Bretagne Vivante.
“Today, we must do everything to restore the conditions favorable to this biodiversity – but not in a hurry.
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Read alsoFires: already records for burned areas in France ... and it's not over
For Alain Thomas, part of the solution lies in so-called “old” practices.
“Originally, this heathland is a natural and semi-natural habitat: as our ancestors cleared forests, it was the heathland that took place in a number of sectors depending on the climate. and the nature of the soil.
In the end, the moors gradually appeared in Brittany until the last century.
For the naturalist, we will have to let nature take its course "without thinking of developments such as kilometers of firebreak tracks for vehicles".
Which could, on the contrary, accentuate frequentation of places which would disturb spaces and floors, and would tend to cause the opposite effect.
"The most sustainable solution is an ancestral way of grazing and mowing the moors"
Alain Thomas, naturalist and former vice-president of Bretagne Vivante
“The most sustainable solution, which we have experienced in two local reserves with farmers for a few years, is an ancestral mode of grazing and mowing the moors, sustainable methods, continues Alain Thomas.
These simple, sustainable agricultural methods, very adapted to the growth rate of the moor (i.e. mowing every four to five years), work today and make it possible to preserve the nature of the moor, sometimes pyrophilic - the passage of fire can stimulate the growth of these plants.
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It should be noted that a European action programme, the Life programme, led by the department, Bretagne Vivante and the Parc naturel régional d'Armorique, which aims to restore between 200 and 300 ha of moors (by 2026) specifically identified in the Arrée and Menez Hom mountains, is already in place.
