Nanchez Peat Bog trail

9 points of interest

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  History & Heritage

  The evolution of life and buildings

  The rural house was first the one belonging to the farmer and livestock breed, where men and animals lived together. As from the 18th century, cheese specialisation and the pooling of milk in cooperative structures - “fruitières” - brought farmers out of a self-subsistence economy. In terms of buildings, the farm became bigger: a storey is added to include bedrooms, a second stable is sometimes built to accommodate more animals.

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  Natural environments

  The Nanchez peat bog

  Peat bogs are characterised by a surface that is constantly water-logged, where peat forms and accumulates: it is a type of bedding made-up of dead vegetation which has badly decomposed due to the absence of oxygen. Life conditions are demanding in these environments and this means that the species that live here must adapt to the omnipresence of water, to a relatively cold climate and to the chemical composition of the soil.

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  Flora

  Sundew

  This small carnivorous plant traps insects using its sticky digestive-juice covered hair. This adjustment allows the plant to acquire additional nutrients in this environment where its roots struggle to find enough food.

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  Flora

  The bog bilberry

  This phony blueberry favours environments that are slightly acidic, which is why it can be found in raised bogs or bogs that are in the process of drying out. Its edible berries, which mature mid-summer, are not as sweet as blueberries.

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  Flora

  Calluna

  This plant’s roots produce toxic secretions which hinder the growth of other species. It is often called common heather.

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  Fauna

  The violet copper

  This butterfly is typical of northern regions. Adults can be seen flying around in May and at the beginning of June. Females lay their eggs by sliding backwards under the leaves of the common bistort. Caterpillars then complete their development on the underside of these leaves.

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  Flora

  Cottongrass

  Their silky tuft does not appear during the flowering stage but rather the fruit stage: the cotton-like fibres that make-up this tuft are carried by the wind to aid the dispersal of its seeds.

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  Flora

  Mountain pine

  In the Jura, these trees are found almost exclusively in peat bogs: its bushy silhouette, its short needles that grow in pairs of two and the hook on the leaves of its cones are some of its distinctive features that will help you to identify one.

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  Viewpoint

  Belvedere over the Fort

  Already on the map in 1835 under the name “La Roche du Fort”, this belvedere – cleared only a few years ago - opens onto the Anchey combe (Prénovel-Les-Piards), the Nanchez forebay and the peat bog. To the south-east you can see the High-Jura mountain range from the Dole to the Reculet.

  At the foot of the belvedere are several funnels, one of which is very visible near the road, and which create overflows during floods. When the sawmills downstream were in operation, the factory workers would try to block them in an attempt to keep enough water for their hydraulic wheels. Regardless of the flow rate, the forebay runs into the karst behind the hamlet of Chaux-des-Prés. Its springs up again 27 km further along, in the Bienne valley.