Châtelain forest

The Châtelain forest is located south of Mayenne in France, in a sparsely wooded area, making it a popular nature spot for local residents.
It is a former farmland that was planted and seeded in the 1990s. Its main species are Sessile Oak, Common Oakand ash. Hedges and banks with old trees have been preserved. Regular thinning and partitioning is required in this wood, otherwise the trees lack space and light to grow and natural regeneration cannot take place. The understorey of the Châtelain forest is mainly composed of grasses and brambles.

The Châtelain forest is in the middle of a growth phase with oaks of about 30 years old that are developing very well. A thinning was carried out in 2021 to give the best trees more room to grow. Tree marking had been carried out the previous year.

In 2022, a 240 linear metre flowering hedge was planted near the beehives in order to provide foraging for domestic bees but also, more broadly, for all the pollinating insects of the forest and to enrich the biodiversity there.