Why intervene so drastically? Why not let nature take its course?

For a long time, we thought that by creating nature reserves we could safeguard the environments, plants and animals that were disappearing. We put them "under glass", out of reach of external disturbances. All we had to do was protect the land and let nature take its course. A seemingly simple solution. In fact, at this stage, we have only achieved part of our objectives.

Left to their own devices, most of the sites benefiting from nature reserve status are changing. For example, a flowering meadow that is no longer grazed is very quickly invaded by grasses and shrubs that choke out the flowering plants characteristic of the environment that was intended to be preserved. Similarly, if a marsh or reedbed is not mown, after a few years it is covered with trees, such as willows, which initiate the return of the forest.

Leaving nature to its own devices would be ideal... in the best of all possible worlds. But natural environments have become so small, fragmented, simplified, immobilised and rejuvenated that natural dynamics are not sufficient to compensate for the disappearance of environments and species. For example, a dry orchid meadow that is being reforested will disappear irretrievably because no new one will grow in its vicinity. Goodbye to the orchids that used to grow there...

That's why action is needed. The focus has gradually shifted from simple site protection to the application of management measures that allow man to perpetuate the effects of ancient agro-pastoral practices that have shaped the environment and the natural diversity associated with it. The reedbeds, wet meadows and dry grasslands are first cleared of trees and undergrowth, then mown regularly. Ponds are deepened...

But there are more and more nature reserves, and larger and larger areas have to be managed with limited human and financial resources, especially in the voluntary sector. Motorised mowers, brush cutters and chainsaws may come to the rescue of managers, but the task is immense and there is a risk of being overwhelmed by its scale.

So managers of public and private reserves are diversifying their management methods. Cattle with hardy characteristics (hardy animals that can withstand wintering outside and require little maintenance) are being introduced into the nature reserves. Farmers' know-how and equipment are gradually called upon.

Source: environnement.wallonie.be