National Natural Reserve of the Massane Forest
Massane Forest National Preserve
The National Nature Reserve of the Massane Forest situated in the Argelès-sur-Mer territory of Southern France is part primeval and restored forest. Located on 830 acres of the Albères Mountains north of Catalonia, between France and Spain, the forest stands in a mixture of two ecosystems, only three miles from the Mediterranean and just nineteen miles from the highest summits of the Pyrenees, with altitudes ranging from 1,969 to 3,793 feet. Hikers are drawn to the quiet, vast forest of the Massane and the heights that allow expansive views of the Mediterranean coastline.
The Carthaginian military leader, Hannibal on route to Rome, brought an army on elephants to cross the Pyrenees, through the Col de Perthus into the Massane forests in 217 BC. Human activities over time depleted vast tracts of the forests by logging and stripping for fuel supplies.
Since the founding of the Arago Laboratory at Banyuls-sur-Mer in 1882, scientist recognized the Massane forest as a premier classical site for international zoology to study the process of microorganisms in the natural environment. The French Forest commissioner, Georges Fabre, began a reforestation plan here in 1875 that became a model to replenish other primeval forests throughout France.
A natural reserve since 1973, the Massane contains oak and ancient beeches that can be considered descendants of preglacial forests, a rare population of which fewer than 3% exist today in Europe. This mature forest boasts a biodiversity of nearly 6500 species due to its geographic location, habitat and lack of exploitation since the nineteenth century. The Massane provides invaluable knowledge about the natural functioning of forests which can help improve future forest management.
Researched and written by Virginia Vanneman, Graduate Student in the Department of History, University of West Florida.
