Bhe new news: a forest lagoon has just been restored in the town of Pompéjac, south of Bazas, in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne. Around 4,000 small natural circular bodies of water would be distributed across the massif. A figure that has declined sharply in recent decades, due to major drainage works linked to intensive logging. “These water points play a fundamental role in terms of biodiversity in the massif,” says Morane Genet, aquatic environment technician at the Ciron union. The lagoons dry up in summer and fill up in winter. They form small lakes that can reach up to 300 meters in diameter. “It’s the breathing of the moor,” notes the union.
The logging is carried out by the Boulonnais draft horse Idole.
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Since 2013, it has been drawing up an inventory of wetlands in its territory to better understand, manage and preserve them. In 2020, the Entente pour l’eau (Adour-Garonne Region and Agency) launched a call for wetland restoration projects. The Ciron union saw the opportunity to work on the restoration of Gironde forest lagoons. Private owners raised their fingers. “But some projects did not go through to completion because of the major fires in the summer of 2022.”
A school site
The commune of Pompéjac seized this opportunity to restore an old reforested lagoon to the north of the commune. “We found traces of this wetland on our 1830 land register,” confirms the mayor of Pompéjac Olivier Douence, also president of the Ciron union. A half-hectare crescent-shaped communal plot was selected for restoration to its natural state. “The objective is to show that lagoons can coexist with pine forest exploitation. These are biodiversity refuges on plots where the pines would have difficulty growing anyway because of the waterlogged soil. »
Ciron Union
Seen from the sky, the Pompejac lagoon is finally breathing. It will be filled with water this winter.
Oaks, birches and aspens were cut down by students from the Bazas agricultural and forestry high school. “This dimension of the school site is important. This allows our students to work on plots other than maritime pine,” applaud Rémi Broqua and Robin Chedal, the two forestry technology teachers. A few days ago, the trunks were flushed out by Juliette Bourdot’s draft horse. “This technique preserves the soil,” explains the manager of Traits de Gaïa. The trunks will be cut, the wood offered to certain inhabitants of Pompejac who heat themselves with it.
Good against fires
The Ciron union wants to use this plot as a showcase. “We will thus be able to concretely show forest owners and municipalities the usefulness of a lagoon,” rejoices the mayor of Pompéjac who is fighting against the systematic drainage of plots. “The lagoons serve as a buffer zone. Without them, there is an acceleration of runoff and flooding phenomena. In summer, the absence of water on the ground transforms the forest into a tinderbox. We saw it in 2022,” concludes the elected official.
To participate in this project, simply contact the Ciron union: 05 56 65 01 16.
