Les prairies multispécifiques en France : histoire, réalités et valeurs attendues

Multi-specific pastures in France : history, realities and expectations

A multi-specific pasture is one that is sown, has a variable perenniality, and is composed of at least three species belonging to different botanical families. Until the middle of the XXth century, the leys, apart from the pastures sown exclusively with legumes, were always multi-specific. The 'Forage Revolution', with its insistence on mono-specific grass pastures, rang the knell of the multi-specific pastures, considered to be archaic. Not before the end of the XXth century did farmers, organic or otherwise, become interested in multi-specific swards. At the present time, near 2 M hectares in France are covered with multi-specific pastures, which are therefore a reality in a number of forage systems. Because of a lack of precision in the statistical data, it is however difficult to determine exactly their place. The analysis of surveys made in two regions, Pays-de-la-Loire and Auvergne, gave greater precisions on the use of this type of pastures by the farmers. It shows why they feel attracted by them, but also their limits, and how they raise a number of questions. The latter have also been tackled by the agricultural press; thirty-six papers have been written on the subject between 1998 and 2007. Research work on multi-specific pastures is recent, and only now begins to yield answers. Much however remains to be done in order to answer the questions raised by the farmers.