Carcans

Owned by the State and managed by the National Forests Office (ONF) since around 1880, the Carcans site is part of the Aquitaine coastal dune systems. This area is classified as a “natural zone,” meaning there are no public facilities, and it is also part of the European Natura 2000 network. It consists of an unvegetated dune along the ocean edge and forested areas further inland.

Today, the coastal dune is threatened with disappearance in some parts of Aquitaine due to increasing marine erosion over time. At the Carcans site specifically, the dune’s width has decreased from 138 meters in 1957 to 40 meters in 2021.

To try to preserve the dune and maintain the essential sediment exchanges between the beach and the dune, the ONF implemented a first trial of “controlled remobilization” in 2022. This method aims to use natural processes (wind, vegetation dynamics, etc.) to shift the dune and thereby maintain its width or even strengthen its resilience.

Following the example of “La Teste / Biscarrosse,” the Life Adapto+ project will address several technical questions about the site’s future: Will dune translation be sufficient to maintain it? How will the flora and fauna evolve on and near the site? Should intervention occur on the dune’s inland retreat to ensure the potential survival of the heritage vegetation of the grey dunes?

Fauna and flora

It is possible to observe the Ocellated Lizard (Timon lepidus), classified as a “vulnerable” species in the Red List of reptiles of Metropolitan France. The flora includes several species: Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria), Sea rocket (Cakile maritima), Sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias), Sea bindweed (Calystegia soldanella), Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum), Lyme grass (Elytrigia juncea), Curry plant (Helichrysum stoechas), and Thyme-leaved toadflax (Linaria thymifolia), among others.