Life Elia

Part of the LIFE Elia team went to Vuillecin on 11, 12 and 13 November 2014 to plant wild apple and pear trees along the new high-voltage line Pontarlier-Frasne. Vuillecin is a municipality of about 700 inhabitants located 800 meters above sea level in the French Department of Doubs in Franche Comté.

Preparation of plants in Belgium

The LIFE Elia project chooses nothing else than plants (for edges or orchards) of local origin. Wild apple and pear trees have been harvested by the National Forestry Office (NFO), a project partner in Franche Comté since 2013. These fruits were sent to Belgium for the extraction of seeds, the breaking of dormancy and the seedling in nurseries specifically set up for the project (see news and article).

Before hitting the road for Vuillecin, the team prepared 600 plants of wild apple trees and 100 plants of wild pear trees. Preparation consisted in reducing plant height, dig up with the garden fork, reducing the hairy roots and assemble sheaves of 25 plants then placing them in bags to prevent drying of the plants.

Plantation in Vuillecin

Around hundred plants were planted in apple-pear mix along the forest corridor, the center being fenced to allow the management of vegetation by grazing. Planting is done by digging a hole with a hoe, then placing the plant in the hole ensuring that the collar is underground, and finally installing a protection against game damages (Nortène sheath).

In the future, fruit-trees flowering will be very useful for the beekeeper who settled his beehives along the power corridor.

Some plants were also planted near a forest cottage owned by the Municipality of Vuillecin, a good opportunity for a local newspaper "republican East" to write an article about the LIFE project (see attached).

The other 600 plants will be planted by the NFO but also by young students from a local school. A lovely way to educate children about nature conservation and biodiversity.

An opportunity to see the effects of grazing

Earlier in the project, in spring 2014, fences were installed to allow the management of the corridor by grazing. Before Montbeliarde cows from the Vuillecin pastoralism association can graze, a herd of 11 rustic horse Konik polski from northern Poland has been rented by the LIFE project at the Lycée Agricole Mancy. This school is specialized in ecological managements by equine pasture. They should overcome suckers of undesired trees in two grazing seasons. Very sociable, these horses are undemanding and are valuable allies to maintain a low vegetation that guarantee electrical safety. The comparison with ungrazed area shows the usefulness of these horses.

We thank the Mayor and his deputies in Vuillecin for their warm welcome and the National Forestry Office for their continuous support, an important factor to achieve such good results.