Life Elia

• Action: Restoration of peatlands, fight against invasive species, restoration of forest edges, opening and maintenance of open environments, mowing and pasture
• Region: Ardennes
• Biogeographical region: Continental
• Partner: ONF
• Site location: near the District of Chooz (08600)
• Protection status of the area: Natura 2000, Ardennes plateau, N2000 code: FR2112013 http://natura2000.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/FR2112013.html

Ecological interest in the area

Situated on the French side within the Natura2000 site, code FR2112013, this area is close to the area covered by the LIFE Croix-Scaille project (project LIFE05 NAT/B/000087). It is characterised by significant diversity in terms of natural habitats, for instance: semi-natural dry grassland and scrubland facies on calcareous land (code 6210), European dry heaths (code 4030), active raised bogs (code 7110), species-rich Nardus grasslands on siliceous substrates in mountain areas (and submountain areas in Continental Europe) (code 6230).

This area is also particularly interesting for the following species:

For avian fauna:

- European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus): dry heaths with a few isolated trees, clear cutting, young plants and natural regeneration of under 15 years.

- Black stork (Ciconia nigra): old-growth hardwood trees, good quality streams, wet grasslands

- Hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia): hardwood stand with dense and varied shrub layer.

- Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix): peatlands, peaty moor, Nardus, dry heath with heather

For daytime butterflies:

- Issoria lathonia: calcareous grassland, extensive plant life, flowering and uncultivated banks with bare soil, cuts and clearings in the forest

- Euphydryas aurinia: wet grassland, acidic low marshes, close to sparse mesophile land, clearings, trails and forest cuts.

- Lycaena hippothoe: wet grassland, low marshes, bordering peatlands, wet clearings

- Lycaena helle: wet and mesophile grassland at the forest edge, wet grassland, bordering peatlands sheltered from the wind

- Lycaena tityrus: sparse meadows and flowering edges, calcareous grassland, wet grassland

- Cyaniris semiargus: wet or dry flowering meadows, banks, quarries, path edges

- Clossiana selene: clearings, trails and forest cuts, sparse meadows, low marshes, peatland

- Carterocephalus palaemon: forest edges, calcareous grassland, wet clearings, peatland and near humid fringes

- Satyrium pruni: sunny bushy edges, brushland, clearings with thickets

- Nymphalis antiopa: open hardwood forests with an abundance of undergrowth, large-scale clearings and sunny edges

For reptiles:

- Common European viper (Vipera berus): intermediate stages of grassland recolonisation, wasteland and moors. Tufts of moor grass, bushes on the periphery of marshes and peatlands, undergrowth producing stumps nearby