Géronne

This site includes the slopes and floodplain of the streams of Lescheret and Geronne, between the villages of Volaiville, Chêne, and Lescheret, in the municipalities of Vaux-sur-Sûre and Léglise. Formerly, part of this plain was occupied by a raised bog; currently, after peat extraction, only remnants of the typical vegetation of this type of environment remain, notably with, amid the sphagnums, plants like narrow-leaved cotton grass (Eriophorum angustifolium), hairy cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum), cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), and creeping willow (Salix repens). Elsewhere, acidic wet meadows are very well represented with large areas of marsh marigold (Comarum palustre), water clover (Menyanthes trifoliata), beaked sedge (Carex rostrata), and black sedge (Carex nigra). Drier areas are occupied by lawns of nard (Nardus stricta) and devil’s-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) in which a few patches of arnica (Arnica montana) can be found. Orchids are relatively abundant with spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata), broad-leaved orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis), and the two-leaved helleborine (Platanthera bifolia). Spruce stands established on wet soils are unwelcome, and part remains to be utilized. Among the birds frequenting this site, we note the presence of the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor), whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia), marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris), or, during migrations, the common snipe (Gallinago gallinago).

Public Access: Public access to the natural reserve will be limited to guided tours, management workdays, or any other activities organized on the site and authorized by the management committee. Motorized vehicles and mountain bikes will not be allowed in the reserve, except for agricultural vehicles and others intended for site management (mowing, brush clearing, etc.). Scientific studies will be encouraged and conducted after approval from the management committee. For reasons of public safety, species protection, or management works, the management committee may temporarily prohibit certain accesses.
Type: Site of Great Biological Interest (SGIB)

La biodiversité en Wallonie