Sentinel mountain pastures – mountain pastures and climate change

The Sentinel Alps project mobilizes a large network of stakeholders across the French Alps (protected natural areas, agricultural and pastoral technical services, breeders and shepherds, research organizations) to carry out work at the interface between scientific research and actions. of development.

The Sentinel Alps system is a Research & Development program which aims to :

• Analyze climatic changes in alpine pasture areas
• Understand the consequences of these developments on vegetation (biodiversity, fodder resources available for herds)
• Reason the capacities of pastoral systems to find room for maneuver and ways of adaptation

This system owes its originality and its strength to the complementarity of its three components :

• Long-term monitioring of roughly thirty mountain pastures in the French Alps, to monitor changes in weather conditions, vegetation and pastoral practices
• Interdisciplinary working groups to produce and disseminate technical and scientific information, aimed at territorial actors
• Places of exchange and debate to cross points of view and contribute to the emergence of a shared culture on climate change and the challenges of pastoral management of mountain pastures

The system relies on numerous partnerships :

• Territorial partners: National parks (Vanoise, Écrins, Mercantour), Regional natural parks (Vercors, Mont-Ventoux, Luberon), Natura 2000 site of Dormillouse – Lavercq (Ubaye), Asters-CEN74.
• Agropastoral technical partners: Adem, Cerpam, FAI, Réseau des Chambres d'Agriculture, SEA 73, SEA74
• Scientific partners: Agate, CNRS, Carmejane experimental farm, Labex ITTEM, Leca, Météo France, Montpellier SupAgro, Pacte , Alpine Station Joseph Fourier, Zone Atelier Alpes , Grenoble Alpes University.
• Political and financial partners: FNADT (State), Feder Fund (EU), Labex ITTEM, South Region, OFB