The pseudo-steppe, or cereal-steppe farming system is an agro-system composed of a mosaic of cereal fields, recently ploughed or left uncultivated to be used for grazing. This rotating system has been developed to optimize soil use. It is an open landscape, dominated by an herbaceous layer, within which shrubs and trees occur sporadically. This semi-natural landscape, although dependent upon man for its maintenance, has a high ecological value. The conservation of the pseudo-steppe is very important for several steppic birds, some of them globally endangered, namely the great bustard, the little bustard and the black-bellied sandgrouse. Small mammals, reptiles, and even some amphibians, more tolerant to dry environments, such as the common toad, also inhabit the pseudo-steppe. Hares are another example of a species that utilises mimicry to blend within the grasses.

SPECIES