This week's content > The grounds

The two sites selected for the Haut-Adour Workshop have different data acquisition configurations: one is under woodland cover, the Bédat de Bagnères-de-Bigorre, the other is in the open, the Campan mountain pastures.

At the foot of the valley, the Bédat de Bagnères-de-Bigorre, a large spa park, includes the water catchment area supplying the spa. Wooded from the end of the 19th century onwards, it is home to a variety of buildings and facilities relating to the management of a Vaucluse system, the development of thermal baths and their promenade, a tree nursery and an arboretum, along with a landscaped fountain and mystery trails. These areas are under threat from the withdrawal of pastoralism, global warming, storms, forestry management and aggregate extraction. Abundant cartography and iconography, curist almanacs and articles by the Société Ramond document this park, with ground resolution LiDAR coverage providing a fresh topographical approach.

In the mid-range mountains, the Campan mountain pastures offer a glimpse of the pastoral developments they are the result of: canals to bring river water to the meadows below, huts for seasonal livestock rearing grouped together in courtaous. This landscape is in a state of flux: canals are flooded, a courtaou has been restored to its former form, refuges are maintained as woody plants grow, and the lawns are constantly criss-crossed by wild and domestic animals, farmers, walkers and local residents who are involved in its upkeep. Here, the documentation consists mainly of aerial photos and satellite images, while the recent LiDAR system provides an overall picture of these different traces.