Land abandonment and the spreading of the forest in the Eastern French Pyrenees in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries

Jean-Paul Métailié (1) , Martin Paegelow (1)

1 GEODE - Géographie de l'environnement

Forests have spread throughout the French Mediterranean hills and mountains which have now become some of the most afforested regions in France. The eastern French Pyrenees has recently been affected by dramatic land abandonment and various afforestation dynamics. This study reports on the spread of Pinus uncinata, which is colonizing large areas of the Eastern Pyrenees from 1300 m up to 2400 m. 2 studies are presented with different scales and methodologies. First, a long term history of a forest and pastoral landscape in Aston. Second, an analysis of recent dynamics in cultivated areas, by a GIS in the valleys of the Garrotxes. The vegetation dynamics in the Aston and the Garrotxes are typical examples of the transformation of Western Mediterranean mountain areas. In Astom, the long-term environmental history was characterized by the impact of metallurgy and the heavy pastoral pressure of the 19s. The present pastoral use is not sufficient to prevent the further pine recolonization. In Garrotxes, the agricultural and pastoral vacuum has not been field by any other activity. The use of a GIS allowed a very detailed analysis of the evolution processes and the examination of the different land-use dynamics in relation to different environmental parameters.

Mots clés: Land abandonment; forest; agro-pastoral landscape; French Pyrenees

Domaines: Géographie

Jean-Paul Métailié, Martin Paegelow. Land abandonment and the spreading of the forest in the Eastern French Pyrenees in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. Recent dynamics of the mediterranean vegetation and landscape, Wiley, pp.219-236, 2004. ⟨halshs-01061768⟩