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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Biodiversity, management and uses of Camargue marshes Biodiversity, perception and conservation Hydrology of Mediterranean wetlands Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Isle of Camargue Integrated coastal zones management Integrated Management of the Bas Loukkos marshes, Morocco Management of Mikri Prespa wet meadows Management plan of the Tour du Valat estate Management plans Participative management and multi-uses of marshes Processes of adaptation of communities in the Camargue Sustainable development and restoration of the estate Technical transfer unit for Mediterranean lagoons

Processes of adaptation of communities in the Camargue - dynamics and management of biodiversity

Project leader: François MESLEARD (See the CV)

Team:

Patrick Grillas, Marta Siliato, Aline Waterkeyn, Loïc Willm, Nicole Yavercovski

Habitat gradients and their heterogeneity are the main environmental factors for the coexistence of species. The maintenance of biodiversity depends on the level of productivity of the habitat, the level of disturbance by natural and anthropogenic factors, and the intensity of competition mechanisms.
Successional trends depend in particular on the initial species composition, of the available bank of propagules and on the effect of biotic interactions within the communities. The dynamics of structuration depend on the mode of management (water, herbivory, cutting, etc.) and the occurrence of stochastic events such as climatic variations; they are also strongly influenced by the role of certain predominant species that are highly competitive due largely to their strategies of colonisation or of taking over space (clonality, resprouting, etc.). The control of highly competitive species is an important issue in MW rangelands, in relation both to the economic value of the pasture and to biodiversity.
Due to the pre-emptive capacities of some species and/or to their colonising abilities, the community structure may depend primarily on the first species to become established. Assessing the role of stochasticity in the processes of establishment, and identifying the factors allowing the establishment of some species to be promoted or inhibited, are vital elements for enabling the nature and dynamics of these communities to be controlled.

The main objectives of the project are:

• To identify the mechanisms (stress gradient, uses: water management, grazing, vegetation cutting, etc.) that determine diversity and more generally the patterns of structure and abundance
• To test and propose techniques for directing the management of the vegetation for biodiversity and economic sustainability, considering three models (xeric grasslands, edges of marshes, temporary marshes).

Contents:

• Activities
• Partners

Activities:

This project addresses 4 issues:

Driving forces of heterogeneity: intensity of use and climatic variability

Partially developed within the framework of the ANR call for tender, Ecology for the Management of Ecosystems and their resources, it concerns xero-halophilic grasslands and sansouires. It particularly evaluates in which conditions herbivory and climatic variability are the main driving forces structuring communities (richness, dominance, eveness). This study is based on experimentations carried out since 2001 on the Tour du Valat estate dealing with:

• The comparison between a high and a low instantaneous pressure
• The absence of domestic grazing
• The absence of domestic and wild (rabbit) grazing
• The control of perennial species.

The control of unpalatable plants in pasture

This component, which has been developed in partnership with the PNR de Camargue, is funded by the PACA Region. It involves drawing on the broad participation of local stockbreeders and landowners:

• To identify management practices that are favorable or unfavorable to these species
• To obtain additional experimental data relating to biotic and abiotic conditions (grazing pressure and hydraulic management in particular).

The ultimate objective is to produce a guide for the use of stockbreeders and managers on methods for controlling these species and preventing them from colonising pastures.

The role of management and extreme events in the structuring of vegetation

This research is being developed within the framework of ANR-IFB Biodiversity funding: Human activities, dynamics and management of biodiversity in the Mediterranean environment, in partnership with CEFE-CNRS. It involves a re-analysis of data collected over the course of the last two decades relating to temporary pools, grasslands, and sansouires, and the inclusion of ongoing monitoring or experiments in order to measure the impact of hydrological and saline stress and of herbivory on the dominant species, as well as their tolerance thresholds.

Dynamics of colonisation of temporary pools by invertebrates and flora

This project, developed in the framework of a thesis financed by the University of Louvain, is based on 2 experiments:

• A mesocosm experiment on the role of physical factors
• An experiment in the field to create pools in order to study the role of the initial stages of colonisation.

Partners:

• CEFE-CNRS Montpellier
• INRA-Theix (URH RAPA)
• LECA-CNRS Grenoble
• ORPHEE-INRA Castanet
• Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue
• Région Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur
• UMR ECOBIO-CNRS Rennes
• University of Leuven (Belgium).

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Photo :

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  Impact of grazing abandonment on the structure of vegetation

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