Roc de Chère: a forest full of life

The forest that you can admire today is quite young: it is barely a century old. Until the early 20th century, the Roc de Chère consisted of open, largely cultivated landscapes ( cereals, vines, pastures, hay meadows). It was only after the 1st World War, with the depopulation of the countryside leading to the abandonment of many agricultural plots, that the area gradually grew back into woodland. Today, farmers, shepherds and lumberjacks are being replaced by hikers, geologists and botanists: alternative approaches and different ways of looking at landscapes and natural environments...

Sometimes scurrying away at the last moment, the green lizard is very impressive. It can measure up to 40 cm in length, two-thirds of which is taken up by its tail. Its bright green with yellow spots are a real eye-catcher! In spring, the male also sports a very distinctive blue neck. A fan of warm, dry, semi-open environments, the green lizard loves the Mediterranean forest and rocky areas of the Roc de Chère, where it blends in with the rocks and vegetation.

Forest and ponds? What more could you dream of for the gentle salamander, the species the most depending on forest among the amphibians living at Roc de Chère! It only uses ponds to give birth to its larvae, equipped with gills, like tadpoles. A poor swimmer, it quickly returns to the forest, leaving her young to lead their first phase of aquatic life. This nocturnal animal has smooth, black skin interrupted on its back by a yellow, occasionally orange, pattern of dots and/or lines. Each individual has a unique pattern!

It's no coincidence that the vegetation is reminiscent of the forests of the Mediterranean hinterland (boxwood and oak). The south-facing slope has a strong impact on the climate and vegetation. Here, the sun's rays are reflected more strongly on the waters of the lake. What's more, the position of the Roc de Chère on the lake shelters it from northern winds. Species which adapted to the warm climite, such as common wild madder and Montpellier maple can be found here.

Can you recognise these two different species? Hint: Common Heather has distinct petals while Bell Heather has bell-shaped flowers and its leaves look like small Cedar twigs while those of Bell Heather resemble needles. Common Heather is often confused with other species of heather such as Bell Heather. This confusion comes from the exploitation of heather soil, called “black gold”, a very good fertilizer used by gardeners. Indeed, Common Heather is able to grow on acid soils and even directly on the rock. The dead plant parts pile up and decompose and form black humus. Asters CEN74, manager of the nature reserve, is carrying out actions in order to preserve the Common Heather, which is gradually being colonized by ferns.

Did you know? Wetlands are the third richest ecosystem in the world in terms of biodiversity. Wetlands have the ecological function of storing rainwater like a sponge, filtering it and stockpiling carbon. Forest ponds, which are the ultimate wetlands, serve as drinking water for many mammals (roe deer, bats, foxes). They are also ideal breeding grounds for many insects (dragonflies) and amphibians (frogs, newts).

Common madder is the little cousin of the dyer's madder, once cultivated to produce red dye. Very common along the Mediterranean coast, the traveller's madder has not been industrialised, despite the fact that its root also contains a red-orange dye. Did you know? Madder is also a distant cousin of coffee!

The bedrock of the Roc de Chère is both limestone on the right-hand side of the forest (Talloires side) and sandstone at the foot of the young forest, on the Menthon-Saint-Bernard side. The Roc de Chère lies along a highly distinctive gap between two geological layers that shape the appearance of the landscape. The Green Lizard and Wild Madder prefer these permeable and hot limestone environments, while Common Heather and ponds are found on sandstone, an acidic and impermeable soil.

This marsh is a relic of the time when glaciers covered the valley. These marshlands, which are becoming increasingly rare, are home to a range of remarkable and in some cases endangered flora and fauna. Frogs and lizards chase the graceful dragonflies flying between the irises. To prevent it from becoming overgrown and dry, it is mown every year by the golf course.