Plaissan () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Exposed to a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, Plaissan is drained by the Dardaillon, the Rouvièges stream, and two other rivers. The municipality has a remarkable natural heritage, which includes an area of ecological, fauna, and floristic interest.

Geography

Between the sea and the

Cévennes , etymology= , photo=Point Sublime-Gorges du Tarn-Frankreich.jpg , photo_caption=The Gorges du Tarn , country= France , subdivision2= , subdivision2_type=Départements , parent= Massif Central , area_km2= , length_km= , length_orient ...

, the village is surrounded by

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

is 35 km to the east, while

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

is 40 km to the west. The sea is 30 km to the south.

Climate

In 2010, the municipality’s climate was classified as Mediterranean, based on a study using data from 1971 to 2001. According to

Météo-France Météo-France is the French national meteorological service. Organisation The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...

's 2020 climate typology for metropolitan France, the municipality falls within the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

and

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...

climate region. The region is characterized by low summer rainfall, abundant sunshine (2,600 hours per year), hot summers (average temperature of 21.5 °C), very dry air in summer, dry conditions throughout the year, frequent strong winds (40 to 50% of days with winds > 5 m/s), and little fog. From 1971 to 2000, the average annual temperature in the municipality was 14.5 °C, with a yearly thermal range of 16.3 °C. Annual precipitation averaged 721 mm, with 6.1 days of rainfall in January and 2.6 days in July. Between 1991 and 2020, the nearest weather station in

Saint-André-de-Sangonis Saint-André-de-Sangonis (''Sant Andrieu de Sangònis'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population Sights * Jardin botanique de la Font de Bézombes See also *Communes of the H� ...

recorded an average annual temperature of 15.5 °C and an average annual precipitation of 652.4 mm. Climate projections for 2050, based on various

greenhouse gas emission Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and la ...

scenarios, are available on a dedicated website published by Météo-France in November 2022.

Natural environments and biodiversity

The Inventory of Natural Areas of Ecological, Fauna, and Floristic Interest (ZNIEFF) aims to encompass the most ecologically significant areas, primarily to enhance understanding of the national natural heritage and to provide regional planners with a tool to integrate environmental considerations into their decision-making processes. In the municipality, a ZNIEFF type 2, noted as "Causse of Aumelas and Moure Mountain" (16,237 ha), is designated, spanning across 16 municipalities within the department.

Population

Plaissan is a rural municipality with a population of 1,545 in 2021, having experienced a significant increase in population since 1975. It is part of the Montpellier attraction area. The inhabitants of Plaissan are called Plaissanais (male) or Plaissanaises (female).