Restoration of floodplain wetlands: Opening polders along a coastal river in Mediterranean France, Vistre marshes

Abstract

Restoration of wetlands has become an increasing field of application of ecological research due to mitigation regulations, changes in agricultural practices and an increasing consideration of the role of wetlands in the water cycle. In areas where the history of human use of natural areas is old and intense, restoration projects must not only consider ecological objectives but also social aspects. The Vistre project was developed to answer a social demand of restoring the flood storage function of a riverine wetland, formerly drained and polderized for agriculture. The river is located in the Petite Camargue, southern France, and flows into the sea a few km downstream of the study site. Openings in the dykes, calculated after a preliminary study, partly restored the connection between the polder and the river basin. A monitoring program of flora and fauna was launched to test the hypothesis that the change in hydrological functioning would be sufficient to obtain the desired vegetation and fauna. During the first years of the project, high rainfall and uncontrolled openings of sluices due to difficulties with the local users caused abnormally high water levels. The vegetation changed to hydrophyte-dominated communities and was controlled mainly by the fluctuations in water level. The habitat objective for fish-eating birds was met and a large tree-nesting heron colony established. Solving the social problem and maintenance of the sills should allow most objectives to be reached, although more slowly than expected.