The Royat arboretum played an important role in the reforestation of the area. Today it is truly an open-air laboratory, certified nationally by France’s Office National des Forêts.
The Royat forest houses a forest arboretum with surface area of 30 hectares.
The originally ecclesiastic forest became the property of the State after the French Revolution. Following publication of the law of 28 July 1860 on mountain reforestation, under Napoleon III, a 4-hectare nursery was created in the heart of the forest (on the site of the present-day car park) and produces up to 2 million plants a year. For a century the plants were used to reforest the fault at Limagne and the Chaîne des Puys in order to protect the soil against erosion and to regulate flooding. The nursery stopped operating in 1972.
In 1934, the forest was converted to an arboretum to test the acclimation of exotic tree species in the Massif-Central region. Over 40 species were introduced. These collections can still be seen today, in the adult trees around you.
Today the arboretum is classified by France’s Office National des Forêts (ONF) and is part of a network of 15 arboretums spread throughout France.
In a world where climate change is making forests vulnerable, the ONF is using the arboretum to build the forests of the future, as a “life-size laboratory”. The arboretum collections continue to grow over the years, with fir and Mediterranean oak trees planted in 2015 and Saharan cypress trees in 2024.
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