The wood forms a series of labyrinths created by erosion: a mineral and vegetal felsenmeer that contains the tormented shapes of natural sculptures in a white oak forest.
The limestone massif of Païolive was formed in the Jurassic era, around 150m years ago. At the time, the region was covered by sea. The Chassezac river has carved its gorges into the massif. The sediment layer once reached a thickness of 400 to 500 metres. Erosion has totally removed this layer from the Païolive plateau.
For the past ten million years, the rocks that outcrop at Païolive have been undergoing karstification, a process whereby limestone is dissolved by the carbon dioxide contained in rainwater.
The vegetation at Païolive is very diverse: saxicoline (cliff) vegetation, short-grass prairies, garrigues (soft-leaved Mediterranean scrubland), forests, river-bank vegetation and crops.
This environment also shelters numerous animals. In 2003, a census found 1,383 insect species, 126 bird species, 41 mammal species, 14 reptile species and eight species of frogs and toads. Located in a Mediterranean climate, Païolive wood also boasts an unequalled abundance of Coleoptera, and particularly attracts entomologists.