RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION OF SPECIES-RICH GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS IN FRANCE - A REVIEW

In France the alteration of species-rich grasslands is due mainly to a griculture and civil engineering projects (roadways, dams, ski resorts , etc.). The restoration of such ecosystems has been tested in many re gions and after many sorts of degradation. According to the level of i nitial degradation, different responses can be envisioned. Some variat ions are presented of a general model of restoration and rehabilitatio n: (1) rejuvenation of fallow land by grazing with rustic animal breed s in wetlands or chalk grasslands in south and northwestern France, (2 ) restoration by recovery of extensive agricultural management in inte nsive agricultural areas such as the Rhone or Meuse Valleys, and (3) r ehabilitation by appropriate ecological engineering carried out in gra sslands degraded by intensification, ski-track, or civil engineering i nstallations. Despite some positive results, these undertakings have n ot always had the expected effects and therefore should not provide al ibis for the destruction of natural grasslands. In general, the succes s of such undertakings depends on the maintenance in the surrounding a reas of protected seed source reservoirs and on the persistence of a d iversified landscape pattern permitting connectivity between these see d sources and the restoration or rehabilitation sites.