Les impacts de la populiculture sur les oiseaux des vallées alluviales

The meadows surrounding several large rivers in Western Europe which are flooded during several months a year are the home of an important biological diversity. But there a threatened by several menaces, in particular by the increase of poplar plantations that closes landscapes characteristics, reduces biodiversity interest and slows down flood evacuation capacities. The extension of poplars plantations is one of the reasons for the decline of several species, including a bad known, shy and secretive bird: the Corncrake (Crex crex).
Yann Batailhou, a birder and engineer specialized in water ressources management, reacted to an article published in December 2008 in Tribune de Tours, a free weekly magazine, titled « Le Peuplier, l’arbre qui gâche la forêt »: here is his reaction.