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Cemagref offers
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About Cemagref
Cemagref facilities
Research examples
Cemagref-Publications
data base
How to reach us
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Terrestrial ecological system |
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Research examples :
 Impact of forestry-management techniques
on forest biodiversity
Revegetation of damaged areas and the contribution of functional ecology
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Sustainable development requires that we look at
the repercussions of agricultural and forestry activities on ecosystems over
different time and space scales. It will be necessary to manage a complex
system in which actors and practices will be subjected to upheaval, due not
only to climate change, but also to the natural evolution of communities and
social-economic adjustments. Ecology
research provides the means to understand the operation of ecosystems and
their dynamics. The goal is to provide managers with the tools required to
meet management objectives for biodiversity or sustainable development that
are compatible with production systems over the long term.
It is first necessary to produce knowledge on
interaction between the practices of actors and the dynamics of biodiversity.
To that end, we must characterise the environments, analyse their capacity
to fulfil an array of functions, measure the influence of practices,
understand the dynamics over time and space, and consider the social-economic
constraints weighing on all the above.
This knowledge must then be pulled together
to create the tools required for action. From the operational standpoint, we
must design typologies, create indicators and monitoring techniques, and
then determine how they can be used. The knowledge gained and the analysis
tools are then used to support implementation of the new public-policy
instruments, notably the territorial forest charters and NATURA 2000. By
combining scholarly achievements in ecology with the know-how gained in case
studies, it is possible to constitute a knowledge base for ecological-system
engineering that to date exists only in fragments.
The work is carried out on forest
environments, grazed zones in mountains, abandoned agricultural zones and on
damaged environments in potentially rich areas. It deals primarily with the
plant communities. Compared to other research organisations, Cemagref is
innovative in that it addresses these questions in view of producing
management tools. It also has a multi-disciplinary approach combining the
life sciences, engineering techniques and regular dialogue with the actors
in the field.
The research calls on competencies in ecology and analysis of spatial
information, in conjunction with the human sciences.
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ADVANCES
Inventory of natural environments by remote sensing for management
of Natura 2000 sites and habitats and for the formulation of
biodiversity indicators
Decision-aid guide for the management of forests intended as
protection against falling rock
Guide on spontaneous forests (issues, monitoring and management
options)
Effects of forestry management on specific biodiversity
Participation in the European network of excellence for
biodiversity |
PROSPECTS
Integrated management, evaluation and mapping of the risks of
forest fires
Development of ecological engineering
Effects of global change on plantlife, birds, pathogenic mushrooms
and hooved animals in forests
Usefulness of dead wood for biodiversity in forest management
Effects of fire on the dynamics of vegetation structures
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Research theme:
Dynamics and Management of Mountain Ecosystems
- DYMON
Sustainable Management and Biodiversity of Forest
- BIOFOR Ecosystems
Mediterranean Ecosystems and Associated Risks
- RICOMED |
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Multi-functional agriculture and
new rural realities |
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Reasearch examples
Territorial valorisation and agritourism
Agricultural multi-functionality and sustainable development
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The transformation of town and country relations is producing new rural realities. Though agriculture and forests still occupy a majority of the land, in general they no longer represent the exclusive means of development. The CAP now partially reflects this reality. Environmental quality, services and, generally speaking, the amenities have taken on increasing importance with three consequences. The first is that the agricultural and forestry sectors must adapt their production systems not only to changes on markets, but also to new social expectations and policy changes. The goal is to reconcile the production of market goods and public goods in a multi-functional context.
Secondly, rural territories are confronted with land-use decisions. And finally, local-development processes are becoming more diverse in response to advantages and constraints, notably access to urban centres, organisational capacities and local aptitudes to take advantage of certain resources, namely available land, amenities and certain characteristics in the local employment systems.
The goal of the research on amenities is to produce knowledge linking environmental factors (perceived as public goods) with local reception capacities (inhabitants and tourists) and the production characteristics of rural territories. To that end, it is necessary to understand social expectations, to identify and characterise the factors of territorial attractiveness, to evaluate non-market functions and their relations with production, and to analyse the contribution of amenities to local development.
This knowledge can then be combined to construct the tools required to propel development and accompany public action, i.e. the instruments of public intervention (incentives, but also types of territorialisation), indicators and policy evaluation.
The work is carried out in areas for which amenities and the multi-functionality of agriculture and the forest often play a crucial role, namely in sensitive rural areas, mountain regions and territories where water is a major issue.
The Cemagref approach is original for a number of reasons:
every attempt is made to study amenities on the scale of the rural territories;
research always has a spatial dimension;
the multi-disciplinary approach combines human and social sciences with engineering techniques;
it encourages inclusive techniques and reaching out to the people involved in public action.
The research brings into play competencies in regional and environmental economics, human geography, management sciences and sociology, with efforts being made to reinforce competencies in environmental economics, management sciences and political sciences.
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ADVANCES
The role of work organisation in animal farming in determining
land-use and upkeep techniques
Simulation model for the response of European agriculture to
changes in techniques or in the economic context and policies
CD ROM on periurbanisation processes and evaluation of
spatial-planning systems
Coordination processes on different scales in strategies for the
long-term development of tourism and formulation of sustainable-tourism
indicators
Processes in the social construction of environmental-protection
policies in France and current evolution
Creation of the Mιtafort UMR in Clermont-Ferrand with ENGREF,
ENITA and INRA
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PROSPECTS
Spatial distribution of human resources and its influence on development
processes in rural areas
Optimisation for agriculture of the implementation conditions of
the European water framework directive, studied on the scale of
catchment basins
Economic value of certain amenities, notably landscapes
Development of agricultural services and the implications for
public policy
Sustainable-development indicators on different territorial scales
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Research theme:
Multifunctional Agriculture and Environmental Issues
- CERES
Rural Amenities and New Ruralities
- AMANDE
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