30 FOREST REGIONS AND IMPORTANT SPECIES 



Plains. — From the foregoing it is seen that the plains forests may be 

 divided into three general zones: (1) Parisienne; (2) Gironde; (3) 

 Provengale. 



Parisienne Zone. — The Parisienne Zone includes more than half of 

 France, and the forest wealth is composed of broadleaf trees except where 

 conifers have been artificially introduced. Hornbeam is a characteristic 

 species, sessile oak and pedunculate oak the most numerous. Beech 

 abounds but it is not necessarily typical of the region because it extends 

 into the mountain zones. The Federal administration has introduced 

 such species as ash, maple, and elm to a considerable extent. Less 

 valuable species typical of this zone are the willows, limes, and poplars. 

 The annual rainfall averages 27.5 inches, most of it occurring in the sum- 

 mer. Droughts are rare and on the whole the chmate may be termed 

 exceedingly favorable for tree growth. It is partly for this reason that 

 natural regeneration of such species as oak is comparatively simple in 

 France while almost unattainable in many parts of Germany. The pre- 

 vaihng wind is west. The best high forests in France that produce ex- 

 ceedingly valuable oak logs are found in this zone. There are, of course, 

 coppice and coppice-under-standards. 



This general region can be subdivided into three parts: (1) West, 

 wliich includes such forests as Fontainebleau, d'Orleans, and Montargis. 

 This hmited area is bounded by the valleys of the Perche and Bretagne. 

 The chmate is exceedingly mild and humid. (2) Center, including the 

 Sologne, where a moist silicious soil has been partly deforested. This 

 includes the Champagne region where the tree growth is quite ordinary. 

 (3) East, which includes the Argonne, the Langres Plateau, the Plains of 

 Lorraine, Franche-Comte, and Bourgogne. Here 25 per cent of the area 

 is forested and most of it is in coppice-under-standards, although con- 

 versions are the order of the day where soil will permit. 



Gironde Zone. — The second important zone — the Gironde — fol- 

 lows the ocean from Bayonne to the Loire, and includes two subdivisions : 

 (1) the oaks of the Adour, and (2) the maritime pine of the Landes- 

 Gascoyne. The important species are maritime pine, occidental oak, 

 and pyrean oak. The sessile oak is almost entirely lacking, and the holm 

 oak is found chiefly on limestone soils. The maritime pine, which now 

 reproduces naturally but originally was estabhshed by artificial means 

 (see pp. 182), is the species of the Landes-Gascoyne. It grows on pure 

 sand and has increased the value of land worthless for agriculture many 

 thousands per cent. 



Provencale Zone. — The third important zone — Provengale — is dry 

 and hot and borders the Mediterranean between Nice and Port Vendres. 

 The region is indented by the Maritime Alps and the Pyrenees at each 

 extremity and extends up the Rhone as far as Valence. The important 



