Forest of Mormal

With its 9163 ha, the Forêt of Mormal is largest main forest department of North and area Nord-Pas-de-Calais, and only sheltering a population of stags. It is a “domanial” public forest and managed by ONF, under the control of the ministry for agriculture, mainly made up of groves of young oaks stalks (80-90 years), beeches, charms, ashes.
Ce massive is an essential component of the Network Natura 2000 and green Trame regional.

Localization

Located at 10 km in the south-west of Maubeuge, and in the north and the west of the valley of the Sambre, this solid mass is included in the district of Avesnes-on-Helpe, in the Canton of the Quesnoy-West, on the commune of Locquignol, making of this village the commune having the largest surface of the Département of North.

Climate

oceanic, hardened by a semi-continental influence.
annual average temperature: 9,0°C (5,0°C at least with 13,1°C like maximum average temperature)
pluviometry: 860 mm of water per annum, with significant interannual variations.

Biogeographic characteristics

This forest which was still almost of only one holding at the time of the French revolution is cut today in 101 pieces by roads and infrastructures of Débardage, offering an good example of éco-landscape Fragmentation. Because of the retreat of the scrap-metal and intensification of agriculture, more than of the urbanization, she knows an ecological phenomenon of insularisation. Its western side (Edge) perfectly rectilinear corresponds to old a Roman Voie. Its biogeographic situation and the quality of its ground in fact a very rich and very productive zone potentially ecologically, but she was overexploited at the time of the two world wars.

History

The solid mass, like other timberings of the area seems to be rather intensely exploited since the Early middle ages. The Biodiversité of the solid mass weakened still considerably since the years 1900. Some fires were started by coal ashes at the time of the steam trains, along the railway which crosses it, but they are especially the consequences of two world wars which are in question, at the same time for the after-effects left by the combat and constructions military, but also because with these two recoveries the German occupant exploited and overexploited wood, follow-up locally of French themselves for the urgent needs for the rebuilding.

the 2/3 of the forest were destroyed at the time of the First World War.
De 1920 to 1930, within the framework of the war damagees, the forest was reconstituted, primarily by cleaning and plantation of oaks stalks, but really it is not a question of a Forêt of war planted on old fields or villages of the red zone like are for example the forests of Verdun or Vimy.
In May 1940: at the time of the Second world war, the German armies re-use the forest of Mormal for its wood, but especially like zone of defense of the sector of Sambre.

The Regional natural park of Avesnois created in 1998 can contribute to the protection or more durable management of the forest. It accompanies a “contract by forest” supported by the General advice of North and ONF, with the District council and of many local government agencies, with for objective a management meeting the needs for production of wood, of the hunting and at the requests of the citizens.

Within this framework, a site of reception, paths, a management differentiated from the forest roads and the restoration of the Arboretum of the David pond are envisaged.

Ecology

The biodiversity is abnormally low there. The large deadwood there is quasi absent, and the very rare deadwood of intermediate size, which explains the scarcity of the insects saproxylophages.
Selon the national course study RENECOFOR, it is the forest which in France receives the most repercussions atmospheric of iron (one can think that this iron is a good tracer for other pollutants come from the valley of Sambre or Resident of Valenciennes). The forest shelters a Arboretum.

social Function : the forest is an important place of frequentation in an area among lowest in forests, but its distance of Lille makes that the frequentation is less low than in Forêt of Saint-Amand for example.

Management:

In 1997, an work group controlled by the community of commune had studied several proposals concerning the installation and the objectives of management, of which:

the installation of a center devoted to the formation with the management ecological and differentiated from space.
the possibility, like that is done more and more in other areas and country, to reintroduce large herbivores (Management Environment of the District council had evoked the Bison of Europe and a certified management FSC and the Research department Osmosis, responsible for animation had proposed the dash for the conservatory management of the wetlands and edges or clearings.
the taking into preliminary and systematic account of the concepts of green Screen and biological continuum functional.
the management differentiated from the edges of roads.

a policy of management differentiated from the road berms aiming at finding a higher diversity is in hand (in the years 1960, the edges were in spring entirely blue so much they were covered with Myosotis).

A écoduc (Battrachoduc precisely) there was posed in the years 1990.

See too

the Community of communes of the Country of Mormal and Maroilles
After-effects of war, not exploded Ammunition, Pollution induced by the ammunition

External bonds

page containing list and photographs of the Casemates and Works of the Line Maginot

Mormal Category: North

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