Prochain point : lat="49.0432" lon="1.87784"
A landscape to preserve
Wet meadows for grazing
Pastures emblematic of the landscape...
Meadows lie at the bottom of l’Eau Brillante Valley, rising slightly up the wooded hillside. They reflect the agricultural vocation of the area. These pastures, near the farms, were needed for the livestock. With the mechanization of agriculture and specialization in grain farming, since the 1990s, livestock rearing has given way to rearing horses for recreational activities. There are around 150 such farms in the area. The grazing of donkeys and horses keeps the land open.
...that have changed very little over the centuries
Old maps show that the landscape has changed very little around here. The pastures of today essentially go back to the eighteenth century to the “Grands Prés” and and "Grand Pâtis”, cultivated plots bordered by hedges, remarkable trees standing in the middle of fields, and woods like the Bois des Carrières, consisting mainly of hardwood.
The Little Owl (Athene noctua) is found in these pasture and woodland areas. It nests mainly in old farm buildings or in the cavities of old trees, particularly in orchards, hence its French nickname “chouette des pommiers" or the apple tree owl. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms and insects, but also rodents. The population declined sharply in the twentieth century with the destruction of the landscape. Now that it is protected, the population is slowly recovering.
