Forest Stories

Forest Stories

By Chris Hewitson

In Forest Stories I consider historic deforestation and today’s reforestation of the Corbières forest in southern France. Through my reading, photography and field research, I have come to understand the forest as a diverse ecosystem supporting trees, plants, and non-human animals. As a result I now appreciate the ancient and ongoing relationship between the forest and its human neighbours.

This area was a part of the first province of the Roman empire outside Italy. The Via Domitia crosses the Corbières in its passage from the Alps to the Pyrenees, with stretches still to be seen in the forest today. For when the Romans left, the forest remained intact.

From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, people used the forest as the source for their material needs. By 1830, there was very little forest left and it is only in this century that the forest has begun to return.

My intent for this project is that it should promote the forest’s rich history and its fascinating present as a re-emerging ecosystem.

The project also glimpses the future forest as a repository for biodiversity and as a ‘sink’ for CO2 in a future dominated by the climate emergency.

Forest Stories The Corbières Forest Deforestation Only now, while working on this project, on the deforested hills, some were built in villages such as in the case of my own house, ‘Forest Stories’, do I realise that people in 1900 did not have recourse to the where the grange was built as an annexe. The forest. Their grandparents would have known positioning of these granges and their nightly use as shelters for sheep, indicates that a little of the forest, perhaps, but by 1850 it was all but gone. people were constantly crisscrossing the landscape to let sheep out onto the hillsides From the beginning of the 18th century, in the morning, tending the sheep during the That period may have been the Belle Époch in Other than that, people used the natural day, fastening them into the granges at night, Paris, but southern villages had only recently resources around them to sustain themselves. sheep rearing had been an important begun moving away from a subsistence They picked wild plants to use as vegetables economic factor in the life of the Corbières, and taking the sheep to market or for slaughter. economy. At that time, Coustouge had a and in different seasons, picked wild-growing reaching such proportions that official fruit, often to preserve for use during the cold figuresshow that by 1830 there were 615, 000 population of about 250 people for the sheep in the region. That’s a lot of land This means that for the best part of 200 years, months. During the Winter, food supplies majority of whom life was tough. the hillsides would have been almost conwould have been supplemented by what the occupied by beasts that spend most of the stantly filled with activity which by the early Many households had small kitchen gardens hunters managed to catch - usually wild boar, day eating.

20th century had virtually ceased although a but also small game such as rabbit or hare. alongside the river where they grew few stragglers remained. According to The last of the hillside forest was cut down vegetables. If they had room, households had to make way for pasture land for the sheep. one village resident, the last sheep in Coua pig or two. Usually a boar for fattening and I cannot imagine that the small river stouge were sent to market in 1937 but the passing through the village, La Robine, To provide shelter for these animals, and killing in the Autumn to turn into preserves for the Winter months, and a sow for contained much that was edible although no with the forest gone, stone shelters known as sheep economy had come to an end long before then as the vine had had taken over as breeding next year’s boar plus piglets to sell doubt hungry people would take from it what granges were built which the sheep entered every night. Not all granges were out the new monoculture. for cash. Elderly villagers in the 1970s told me they could such as frogs and bony fish.

I live in the village of Coustouge set in the Corbières Massif in the department of the Aude in southern France. When I first visited Coustouge in the mid-1970s, I felt as if I had travelled back in time to the 3rd French République of the early 1900s.

that there were always chickens wandering around the village when they were children, so presumably eggs would have been a source of protein with a boiling fowl - an old chicken that no was no longer laying eggs - as the base of an ocasional stew.

Geography, Climate and History The Corbières Massif is mostly situated in the département of the Aude, extending a little into the Pyrenées Orientales. The massif is bounded to north and west by the river Aude, by the Mediterranean to the east and the Fenouillèdes region to the south.

The principal towns of the Corbières are Carcassonne (the Préfecture of the Aude), Narbonne (Sous-Préfecture) Tuchan and Rivesaltes. The Corbières mountains appeared about 65 million years ago at the start of the Cenozoic, the geological era that saw the ascendancy of mammals, The mountains are formed mostly of limestone, which is is highly soluble in water, attaining heights of between 400 and 500 metres. Erosion over millenia by wind, rain and rivers has created wide valleys and deep gorges and frequently softened the aspect of once-rugged mountain peaks. Today the landscape is noted for its typically Mediterranean flora formed into ‘garrigues’ (scrubland) pine forests and an undergrowth of holm oak. Today’s distribution of flora has

been brought about by human activities particularly as noted above, animal husbandry and viticulture. Even today’s ‘garrigue’ is not the scrubland of a thousand years ago. Clearing the garrigue to make way for sheep has destroyed the original ‘thick’ scrubland to make way for today’s ‘thin’ chaparral.

Climate The Corbières climate is Mediterranean typified by high heat in the Summer traditionally with short periods of between 30C and 40C. although these high temperatures have become very common in recent years. There is generally little rain during the Summer months although there are occasional intense thunder storms.

Autumn is the period of most rain. A number of rivers - such as the Aude, the Orbieu and the Agly - run through the region.

History By the time of the Arab invasions (719 - 759)

the Corbières had already been fortified by the Visigoths. In 865, after the Moors had been vanquished, Charles the Bald, King of France, divided the former Roman and then Visigoth province with the southern region going to the Count of Barcelona, and northern section marked by the Corbières massif being given to the jurisdiciton of Narbonne.

To the south of the Corbières lies the region of Rousillon which in the Middle Ages became wealthy and in 1180 were attached to the crown of Aragon then to that of Spain thus making the Corbières a heavily defended border region, hence so many hill top fortifications.

The Cathars All points of passage from north to south were controlled by a set of castles: Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, Puilaurens, Aguilar, Termes, etc.. The Languedoc (the larger region of which the Corbières is a part), at first under the suzerainty of the

kingdom of Aragon, came under the control of the kings of France during the Albigensian crusade. The Albigensians, or ‘Cathars’ formed a Christian gnostic movement between the 12th adn 14th centuries. They are mainly remembered today because of their persecution by the Catholic church.

The Renaissance With the proliferation of firearms and canon across the defenses of the Corbières, it was very difficult for any army to invade from the south unless they took the route of the mosquito-infested lagoons at the coast.

Ulitmately, in 1659, the Traty of the Pyrenées put an end to the military history of the Corbières.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature

Why Forests are important Forests are important for People Forests cover around one third of all land on Earth - it used to be a lot more - and breathe life into our world but it is not just the planet that suffers when they are destroyed. As we have seen in the Corbières, forests are important for people’s lives, homes and livelihoods. They have a crucial role to play in tackling the biodiversity and climate crises. Forest products are a vital part of our daily lives from paper to wood products and by-products used in medicines, cosmetics and detergents.

water vapor and capturing rainfall. They also filter out pollution and chemicals, improving the quality of water available for human use.

The destruction of forests has a knock-on effect on agriculture and can affect the production of the food we eat.

Human health is inextricably linked to forest health. Deforestation has serious consequences on the health of people directly dependent on forests, as well as those living in cities and towns, as it increases the risk of diseases crossing over from animals to humans. Meanwhile, time spent in forests has been shown to have a positive benefit on conditions including cardiovascular disease, respiratory concerns, diabetes and mental health.

Over 1.6 billion people depend on forests for food or fuel, and some 70 million people across the world call forests home. Forests provide us with oxygen, shelter, jobs, water, nourishment and fuel. With so many people dependent on forests, the fate of our forests may determine our own fate as well.

Forests matter for nature

Forests help prevent erosion and enrich and conserve soil, helping to protect communities from landslides and floods and producing the rich topsoil needed to grow plants and crops. Forests also play an important role in the global water cycle, moving water across the earth by releasing

Forests are home to over 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, including 80% of amphibians, 75% of birds and 68% of mammals. Deforestation of some tropical forests could lead to the loss of as many as 100 species a day. Our ability to stop biodiversity loss is heavily dependent on our ability to

stop forest loss. When we take away the forest, it is not just the trees that go. The entire ecosystem begins to fall apart, with dire consequences for all of us. Forests provide habitats for plants and animals, including some of our planet’s most iconic species like the tiger, giant panda, gorilla and orangutan.

can help protect people and nature from the consequences of a warming world.

As the impacts of climate change including floods and storms from rising sea levels and increased precipitation become more frequent and severe, forests can provide a crucial buffer for our communities. Extreme events caused by Habitat loss is one of the main causes of climate change, such as more frequent biodiversity loss, as land that once was wildfires, limit the ability of our forests to forest is cleared for other uses. Forestregenerate. At the same time, deforestation dwelling wildlife populations (which include contributes to climate change by increasing mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) the risk of fires. Stopping deforestation and have declined on average by 69% since 1970, restoring forests is a crucial part of climate with tropical forests such as the Amazon the action. worst hit.

Reproduced by kind permission of WWF

Forests and the climate Forests are the largest storehouses of carbon after the oceans, as they absorb this greenhouse gas from the air and lock it away above and below ground. So, it is no surprise that when we cut down or damage our forests, we release huge amounts of carbon emissions that contribute to the climate crisis.But forests are also important as they

Further information at the WWF website: wwf.panda.org

Boar with marcassin Boar leave the forest nightly, frequently entering the orchard. In June 2023, for the first time, a sow took her piglets (known as marcassin in French) with her. If you turn up the volume you will hear the grunts and squeaks of the weaners as they learn to select their food.

The fox The small fox pictured on the next page is a regular visitor. In early June 2023 it suddenly began appearing in the evening rather than during the night. In one section of the video you can hear a bird squawking loudly perhaps to alert others to the presence of danger.

Badger A badger visted the orchard between January and March 2023 to forage. In this clip, listen out to hear the badger cracking on snail shells using its strong teeth, The badger is usually seen ambling unfussed, but at the end of this clip you will see it speed up when surprised by the sudden clanging of the church clock’s bell.

Beech marten The beech marten is the mainland European version of the pine marten. A pair of them regularly come from the forest and enter the orchard next door. The beech marten moves rapidly, using bouncing steps to propel itself forward. You can see these movements in this short video clip. I have observed that the beech marten goes to the orchard more frequently in Winter than at any other time of the year. I also note that the beech marten never enters the garden when other animals might be around; not even domestic cats.

The owl’s cry In this recording from 14th June 2023, made at about 22h00, you hear an owl crying and the wind blowing hard. These are moments that make us remember the forest tales that frightened us as children. Stories of Hansel and Gretl, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

While I was working on this project, planning for personal safety in the wild areas of the hills and forest was very important.

The nightingale The sound of a nightingale singing in the forest in early Summer is one of Nature’s most perfect sounds.I recorded this bird at midnight on the 8th June 2023.

Restless Forest The above typology contains photographs of the first section of pine forest to return after the great deforestation. Unlike areas of forest which are self-regenerating, this earlier section was planted by children of the village of Coustouge during a series of planting sessions between about 1925 and 1928. The photographs were taken in May and June, 2023, from the top floor of my house in the village.

The video was made on 29th June 2023, and captures something of the strength of a Mediterranean storm. It shows the power of the wind and rainwater, indicating their abilithy to wash away the topsoil on the hillsides as happened in the 19th century once the trees had been cut down.

For their invaluable support and guidance during this project, I should like to thank the following people: Wendy McMurdo Jesse Alexander Paul Clements Laura Hynd Karen Aneiro Alan Conteh Emma Hart Peter Bushby The team at Newspaper Club WWF London The estate of Ken Towner

Chris Hewitson contact details chrishewitson@me.com +33 (0)6 03 71 94 96

All photographs in this broadsheet are by Chris Hewitson apart from the three black and white postcards of Coustouge, which are said to have been made in 1908 by an unknown itinerant grocer; and the photograph of Chris Hewitson and Michael Poynor on the roof of their Coustouge house, which was taken in August 1978 by Ken Towner, photographer at the London Evening News (all permissions granted).

Legend The ever-changing aspect of the forest is testimony to the range of ways in which humans describe their relationship with it. On a sunny morning it can be a delight to walk along woodland paths, alone with one’s thoughts. But at other times, the forest can appear dark and foreboding; at such times we may hesitate even to enter.

The Corbières massif appeared 65 million years ago at the beginning of the Cenozoic geological era. It consists of limestone which can be used for building and is why so many fossils have been found in the region. Post deforestation, it took two centuries of weathering before small plants could get a foothold and kickstart the process of reforestation.

The forest provides plentiful cover for non-human animals, but as a forest of pines it does not provide much food for them, especially in time of drought as at present. Thus at night, animals such as this badger leave the forest to forage.

In the 19th century, it became common for cypress trees to be planted in Corbières churchyards. They are still there to this day. However, the seeds from these cypress trees have been dispersed in the wind so now may be found as part of the newly-forming forest.

The presence of boar in the Corbières forest is mentioned in texts from the 8th century. Their numbers dropped after deforestatiion but their numbers have greatly increased in recent years.

Drought appears to be impelling them to enter vines and gardens to look for foods containing more moisture than they find in the wild.

To make way for the enormous exapansion of viticulture after 1870, the forest on the valley floors were cut down. In this photograph taken near Villesèque-des-Corbières, one can see the forest resuming on the hills, the valley still given over to vines, and cypress trees being used as wind breaks.

Foxes and beech martens often enter gardens while stoats, mink and other small animals prefer to keep well away from humans. The insect populations have much declined in recent years and this has caused bird and bat populations to decline.

As the Roman empire grew, traders and the army needed to move around the various territories speedily. The Via Domitia connected Rome with its provinces in southern France and in Spain. In this photograph a section of this road can be seeing traversing the forest at Roquefortdes-Corbières.

This is a photograph of the Corbières forest looking north towards the National forest at Thézan and the Communal forest of Ferrals. These distinctions refer to the bodies responsible for care of the different forests. Prior to deforestation the forest consisted mostly of holm oak, while the regenerating forest is made up of pines.

In this photograph, the forest appears sombre and forbidding. While I was working on this project, there were days when I could hear the hunt nearby. So, I worked fairly quickly, hoping that the hunters would realise I was there, a man in bright clothing, so not a boar!

From the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, people used the forest as their principal source of fuel for homes and industries as well as for food and building their houses. But for 200 years from about 1700, large flocks of sheep were introduced and the forests cut down to make way for pasture.

In some parts, pine forests grow very thick, and the soil cannot hold them. Frequently trees collapse creating micro-ecosystems for small mammals, birds, lizards and insects. Deadwood also creaties organic matter that supports diverse plant life in the forest.

By the 1830s, most of the forest had gone. There remaned very little to anchor the soil to the hillsides so that it was swept away during the annual succession of Mediterranean storms.

Mountain springs and streams disappeared, so no longer fed rivers, and wildlife was devastated.

During the 19th century, the economy of the Languedoc, the region in which the Corbières is situated, changed from subsistence living of growing in small plots, hunting and foraging in the forest for one’s own food to one where the vine became important as a cash crop.

Peoples’ material lives began to improve.

Some Corbières households grew wealthy after the mid-19th century when the Languedoc was asked to substantially increase its wine harvest.

The phylloxera pest had hit the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy and the government deemed it crucial to maintain the flow of wine to the dining tables of the big cities.

Thus, gradually, people first learned how to live without the forest and then to forget they ever needed it at all. In this photograph from 1908, taken by an itinerant grocer (also author of the two previous images). one can see that the hills around the village are completely denuded of trees.

This is a photograph taken in August 1978, by Ken Towner of the London Evening News. It is of Michael Poynor, and I taking a break from demolition work on the roof of our house in Coustouge. As can be seen, seventy years after the previous pictures, the hills remained bare as the forest had not yet begun to recover.

This photograph shows the forest in its glory.

Tall trees reaching high, pine cones full of seeds ready to fall, branches ready to fall to ‘feed’ the forest floor. And the sun shining through, touching everything it reaches in the forest.

The series of photographs of the forest seen from my house, I made between March and July 2023. These pictures show different moods of the forest at different times of the day and in different weather conditions