Discovery and science

The northern Hautes-Alpes region boasts a remarkable high-mountain environment, both in terms of its beauty and its biodiversity. This one-week course aims to introduce participants to the flora and vegetation of the Briançonnais region. It is organized around field trips to discover the region's plant landscapes, the different plant communities and the species that compose them: from the foothills to the alpine zone, from the steppe grasslands of Queyras to the high peaks of Galibier.

Follow in the footsteps of Dominique Villars, the first botanist to recognize the scientific interest of the Lautaret Pass and its surroundings at the end of the 18th century. Learn about botany in these extraordinary places, which are home to almost a third of France's plant species within just a few kilometers.² Only. Ask your trainer, a passionate and fascinating botanist who has been collecting plants in this region for over 30 years, any questions you may have.

Accommodation and meals are not provided. Participants must make their own arrangements. Check with local service providers.

Enrollment in a DU does not confer student status.
Completion of the DU does not result in the award of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits.

Course program (indicative, subject to change depending on weather conditions)

Day 1, Lautaret Pass (2,100 m altitude)

• 11 a.m.: Meet at the Col du Lautaret in front of the farm café
• Site presentation and picnic
• Bermuda grass lawn
• Giant hogweed lawn
• Nard grass
• Alkaline fen with Carex davalliana
• Molinia meadow
• Conference on the remarkable flora of Lautaret and Briançonnais

Day 2, Briançon, Val des Prés (1,200-1,500m)

• 9 a.m.: Meet at the Lautaret Pass
• Briançon at Bois de l'Ours: Wild pine forest
• South-facing dry area (1,300 m)
• Briançon: Steppe grasslands with Festuca vallesiaca and Stipa pennata (1,200 m)
• Land with common juniper and true lavender
• Val des Prés: Granon fir forest (1,500 m)
• Xerophilous forest pine forest with Carex alba ( 1,300 m)
• In the evening: shopping in Briançon

Day 3, Queyras and Guillestrois (1,000-2,300 m)

• 7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Col du Lautaret
• Ascent to the Col de l'Izoard: Crochet pine forest and Swiss pine on the north-facing slope (2,000 m)
• Descent from the Col de l'Izoard: Pine forest of mountain pines on the south-facing slope (1,900 m)
• Château-Villevieille: Heathland with juniper trees
• Foxtail astragalus station (1,300 m)
• Saint Crépin: Thuriferous juniper wood
• Stipa grasslands (1,000 m)
• Vallon du Fournel: visit to a colony of Alpine blue thistle (1,300 m)

Day 4: Le Lautaret, La Grave (1,400–2,100 m)

• 9 a.m.: Meet at the Lautaret garden
• Garden tour
• La Grave aux Fréaux: Larch forest on tall herbaceous vegetation
• La Grave in the Malaval valley: Scrubby grassland with Achnatherum
• Villar-d'Arène: grouping of myricaire alluvium
• Lautaret: tour of the laboratory
• In the evening: determinations on flora

Day 5: The alpine stage of Galibier (2,500-2,700 m)

• 9 a.m.: Meet at the Lautaret Pass
• Groups of schistose scree with mountain lion's tooth
• Swiss rock rose station
• Alpine meadows and snow-covered valleys
• In the evening: determinations on flora

Day 6: Col du Lautaret (2,100 m)

• 9:30 a.m.: Meet at the Col du Lautaret
• Rhododendron and cranberry bogs
• Acidic marsh with Carex nigra
• Adenostyle megaphorbium
• Green alder bush
• Joyful Willow Bush
• 5 p.m.: end of the course