The cottongrass path

5 points of interest

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  Panorama

  Panorama

  Here you overlook the peat bogs spread out below. This place also offers you a panoramic view of the puys, or extinct volcano cones, that surround the peat bogs. On a clear day, you can admire one of the most iconic landscapes of the Millevaches plateau.

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  Peat bog

  Peat formation process

  Peat can only be formed in environments that are constantly saturated with water. They therefore need a positive water balance with inputs from multiple sources (rain, snow, fog, runoff, etc.). This balance must be equal to or greater than the losses (evaporation, transpiration, etc.). It takes about a century for between 1 and 2 centimetres of peat to form. The peat bogs of Longeyroux have a depth of 2 metres of peat.

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  Flora

  An adapted flora

  The development of conventional fauna and flora was complicated in peatlands. Many species adapted themselves to the constraints of this environment. For example, cottongrass, the trail's symbol, grows in ever thicker tufts, which allow it to escape from the water. The drosera feeds on small insects that it attracts to its leaves with droplets of a juice it produces.

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  History

  Family peat cutting

  Until the beginning of the last century, families on the plateau used peat as fuel to heat their homes, as the region was not very heavily wooded at the time. To do this, they dug ditches in an area of peat to drain the water from it. Then they would remove pieces of peat in the form of briquettes and let them dry. In bad weather, they put these briquettes on the fire as we would use wood today.

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  Flora

  Grazing and callune

  In the past, the peat bogs were used to graze sheep; with the agricultural decline linked to the rural exodus, these areas have been abandoned. Today, the Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels du Limousin has reintroduced Limousin sheep on these plots in order to maintain the callunes. Callune is a perennial plant that measures between 20 and 50 cm in height. Despite its similarity to heather, these two plants are very different.