Wood of Rochette

Stretching over more than 100 hectares, the Bois de la Rochette extends southeast of Liège, on the municipality of Chaudfontaine, on the right bank of the Vesdre about 3 km upstream from the confluence with the Ourthe. On the plateau and eastern part, the dominant vegetation consists of oak woods and acidophilic oak-birch woods with undergrowth of heather and blueberries. One can also admire an old fort built in 1888, currently operated as a leisure park. The slope overlooking the valley, facing south, features grasslands dominated by molinia and dotted with colonizing trees and shrubs. It was once exposed to the fumes from the Prayon factories, explaining the presence here and there of a calamine flora, albeit relatively impoverished compared to other nearby sites. Remaining little studied, the local fauna includes various interesting species, such as the wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) that occupies a unique habitat here, the silver-washed fritillary (Issoria lathonia), a butterfly particularly associated with calamine violet, as well as the black ladybird (Exochomus nigromaculatus) and the heath ladybird (Chilocorus bipustulatus), two beetles closely associated with heathlands and related environments.

Public access: Unknown
Type: Site of Great Biological Interest (SGIB)

La biodiversité en Wallonie