Nestled in the heart of the Ardennes region, the Lac de Bairon covers a total of 120 hectares and is made up of two bodies of water separated by an embankment. One is the old lake and its reed bed, which has been transformed into a natural reserve, and the other a large lake created for water sports and activities.
The étangs de Bairon (site no. 86)
The étangs de Bairon are made up of two reservoirs, the oldest created by the monks of Mont-Dieu and the most recent in 1830 to supply the Ardennes canal. The old reservoir, commonly called the "Vieil-étang", is of particularly high ornithological interest.
Its primary habitat is made up of alluvial forests with black alder and European ash (14.39 ha).
The wetland habitats are made up of hygrophilous megaphorbia and in particular meadowsweet, wild angelica, purple loosestrife and hemp-agrimony.
The site also includes eutrophic water bodies with a dominance of free submerged macrophytes (2.25 ha). A small environment, covering just a few small ponds between the reeds and the margins of the reed bed of the Vieil Etang, as well as the Touly lakes: common duckweed, carnivorous plants, floating crystalwort
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eutrophic water bodies with a dominance of free floating macrophytes on the water surface (0.67 ha). A few reed ponds dotted along the reed bed: common duckweed, greater duckweed, frogbit, lesser duckweed.
To find out more, download the Natura 2000 booklet on Bairon