title: [Ancientness and maturity: two complementary qualities of forest ecosystems].
abstract: Ancientness and maturity are two major qualities of forest ecosystems. They are components of naturalness and are affected by human impact. These qualities and the associated terms are often mixed up and incorrectly used. We have carried out a synthesis in order to propose an adapted French terminology based on international literature. The topics of ancientness and maturity for biodiversity and soil characteristics are explained. This review leads us to submit different potential thresholds for ancientness and maturity. An analysis on ancientness and maturity on forest data for France leads to the conclusion that about 29% of all forests can be considered "ancient woodland", and less than 3% of the even-age forest is older than the harvesting age.
authors.affiliation: INPT/ENSAT/EI Purpan, UMR 1201 Dynafor, École d'ingénieurs de Purpan, université de Toulouse, 75, voie du TOEC, BP 57611, 31076 Toulouse cedex 3, France. Electronic address: eugenie.cateau@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eugénie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cateau
authors.affiliation: Inra, INPT/ENSAT/EI PURPAN, UMR 1201 Dynafor, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; CNPF-IDF, 7, chemin de la Lacade, 31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France. Electronic address: laurent.larrieu@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Larrieu
authors.affiliation: WWF France, 6, rue des Fabres, 13001 Marseille, France. Electronic address: dvallauri@wwf.fr.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vallauri
authors.affiliation: INPT/ENSAT/EI Purpan, UMR 1201 Dynafor, École d'ingénieurs de Purpan, université de Toulouse, 75, voie du TOEC, BP 57611, 31076 Toulouse cedex 3, France. Electronic address: jm.savoie@purpan.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Savoie
authors.affiliation: MNHN, Service du patrimoine naturel, CP41, 36, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: touroult@mnhn.fr.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Touroult
authors.affiliation: INPT/ENSAT/EI Purpan, UMR 1201 Dynafor, École d'ingénieurs de Purpan, université de Toulouse, 75, voie du TOEC, BP 57611, 31076 Toulouse cedex 3, France. Electronic address: herve.brustel@purpan.fr.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brustel
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Ancienneté; Ancientness; Dynamic; Dynamique; Maturity; Maturité; Naturality of forest; Naturalité des forêts