La Teste / Biscarosse

PState-owned and managed by the National Forestry Office (ONF), the La Teste-Biscarrosse site is part of the Atlantic coastal dune massifs of Aquitaine. Similar to Carcans, this area is classified as a “natural zone,” meaning it has no public facilities, and it is part of the European Natura 2000 network. It consists of an unvegetated dune along the oceanfront with forested areas in the background.

Following the major storms of the winter of 2013-2014, dune cliffs became widespread, and marine erosion of the beaches and dune bases intensified. As a result, the dune width is gradually decreasing.

To help preserve the coastal dune and maintain the essential sediment exchanges between the beach and dune, experimental works conducted in 2015 and then in 2020 have increased the transport of sand towards the back of the beach and allowed for the natural reshaping of the dune. This nature-based solution aims to create a new dynamic between the beach and the dune ridge.

Following the example of Carcans, the Life Adapto+ project will develop new management tools with national and European relevance for this type of similar setting.

Fauna and flora

The Ocellated Lizard (Timon lepidus), classified as a “vulnerable” species in the Red List of reptiles of Metropolitan France, can be observed here. The flora includes several species such as Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria), Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima), Sea Spurge (Euphorbia paralias), Beach Morning Glory (Calystegia soldanella), Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum), Lyme Grass (Elytrigia juncea), Everlasting Flower of the Dunes (Helichrysum stoechas), Thyme-leaved Toadflax (Linaria thymifolia), and others.