Presentation

The Biodiversity Monitoring Network for the Loire and its tributaries

The OBLA covers the natural and semi-natural habitats of the floodplain of the Loire and its main tributaries, as well as the wetlands at the head of the basin. Its aims are to monitor the dynamics of organisms and major habitat types in relation to major environmental factors, and thus to shed light on the processes underlying the dynamics and distribution of organisms and habitats.

This observation network was set up in 2012 and is intended to complement the other networks of observatories that already exist or are in the process of being set up, taking responsibility for aspects not covered by the other initiatives. Although OBLA is a scientific network, it also acts as a link between the research community and nature managers, pooling resources, transferring monitoring results and developing tools to help analyse data.

What makes it special is :

• its spatial scale (the Loire catchment area);
• simultaneous monitoring of the distribution of organisms and major environmental factors in the biotope; 
• the simultaneous consideration of several taxonomic groups.

The OBLA is structured around three thematic areas, ranging from paleobiodiversity to present-day biodiversity, each with several actions:

• Area 1: Species and community dynamics in relation to environmental factors
• Area 2: Experimental approach 
• Area 3: Biodiversity and management

The OBLA network is one of the structuring projects of the Loire Workshop Zone and is associated with the SOERE ECOSCOPE. It was set up with the support of the Loire Bretagne Water Agency, the Etablissement Public Loire, the Centre - Val de Loire region, the European Union and the CNRS via the Zones Ateliers network.

Download the OBLA project report:

OBLA implementation report

Contacts: 
Scientific coordinator: Sabine Greulich, UMR Université de Tours - CNRS 7324 CITERES (greulich@univ-tours.fr)
Data analysis and management: Fabien Verniest, UMR Université de Tours - CNRS 7324 CITERES (fabien.verniest@univ-tours.fr)