the challenge to rebuild the Landes forest

Despite a fierce fight by the firefighters, the flames burned the ground, nibbled the undergrowth, devoured the trees. Nearly 20,000 hectares were destroyed, so the task ahead proved to be considerable. “The work will first consist of exploiting the existing burnt wood, which can be recovered and then cleaning the plots to consider a return to afforestation”explains Marion Laquerre, engineer (association for the defense of the forest against fires).

For reforestation, some specialists initially believe that we must first trust nature, which can regenerate itself, at its own pace. “A bush will grow back in a few years. After one growing season, the grass will have grown back. A tree, on the other hand, needs 30 to 40 years to become an adult”, says Rémi Savazzi, national technical expert in forest fires (ONF). Experts estimate that it will take 50 years to see the forest as it was before the fires.