Extensive data collection…
To carry out this assessment, Perrine Turiez, project manager at the Chambre d’agriculture de Bouches-du-Rhône, interviewed livestock farmers, shepherds, pastoral experts and ecologists, as well as compiling extensive literature. This work has enabled us to identify the particular features of each site, and the potential for cooperation with a number of breeders.
Hand-picked sites…
This information was then cross-checked with data on vegetation, predation pressure from several bird species, and the dispersal potential of the species at the sites examined. This work led to the selection of two sites particularly suitable for the reintroduction of the Crau Plain Grasshopper.
…For tailor-made management recommendations
In addition, the two sites where the Crau Plain Grasshopper is known to be present have also been the subject of management plans designed to perpetuate its presence by adapting pastoral practices.
On the way to a first reintroduction
These two sites have therefore been the subject of pastoral management plans based around a key measure: when the first grasshoppers are released, an area of 7 to 10 ha, indicated by the farmer concerned, will benefit from a seasonal suspension of grazing and an adjustment to the frequency of flocks passing through the area. This will provide the grasshoppers with abundant vegetation during their period of presence (April, May and June) and reduce their exposure to predatory birds associated with the flocks, such as the Cattle egret.
Perrine TURIEZ, Bouches du Rhône Chamber of Agriculture,
LIFE SOS Crau Plain Grasshopper project manager