'De Inslag', Brasschaat

ICP Forests Combined Meeting of the Expert Panels on Crown Condition, Foliar and Litterfall, Soil and Soil Solution, Deposition and the Working Group on Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Laboratories, 25 – 29 March 2019, Brussels, Belgium Excursion to the site of ‘De Inslag’, Brasschaat th Friday, 29 of March, 2019 Programme 7:50 Participants present at bus departure. Bus will leave from the back entrance of the HT building, see map. Emergency phone number: Nathalie Cools + 32 473 94 79 04 Bruno De Vos + 32 478 28 17 02 Arne Verstraeten + 32 479 99 22 03 8:00 (sharp) Departure of the bus from Brussels to Brasschaat 9:30 Walk from parking site ‘Blue Ball bowling’ to research site 9:45 - 12:00 Guide tour on the site 12:00 Short visit to the open field installation 12:30 Departure of the bus for lunch to the ‘De Melkerij, Peerdsbos’ 14:00 Departure of the bus to Brussels 15:30 Arrival of the bus at “Brussel Noord/ Bruxelles Nord/ Brussels North” train station History of ‘De Inslag’ Dirk Leyssens, current forest ranger The name “Inslag” or “ Inslaen” was already mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1600. The name th th refers to the commissioning or improvement practices during the 17 a nd 18 century in this region. The originally fallow land and heathlands along with scattered fens (formerly called Maria ter Heide or Brasschaatse heide) were steadily converted into arable land and pasture. Later onwards, some parts were wooded. In the past, the original landscape formed a large continuum connected with the surrounding forests. Afforestation of the moorlands took place from 1930 onwards for the production of mining wood. The state forest "De Inslag" was acquired in 1981 by the Agency of Nature and Forest. This forest domain formerly belonged to a Brussels industrial. The purchase of 147 ha was then considered as a prestigious project for the former Forest Administration. The domain was extended to 174 ha in subsequent years. Along with other private forest and the adjacent parkland, the complex covers about 300 ha. The domain was and is still characterized by the presence of wooden tree lines, crossing the forest parcels. The domain originally consisted of 19% meadows (cattle breeding), 43 % hardwood forest stands and 16 % deciduous forest. The remaining part (32 %) was occupied by mixed forests. The understory was mainly composed of dense 1 ICP Forests Combined Meeting of the Expert Panels on Crown Condition, Foliar and Litterfall, Soil and Soil Solution, Deposition and the Working Group on Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Laboratories, 25 – 29 March 2019, Brussels, Belgium Rhododendron thickets. In the coniferous forests, Black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) was introduced during the fifties in order to improve the humus decomposition. As the forest ecosystem mainly served as a hunting scene, forest management was confined to removal of brush wood and suppressed trees. Tree stems were disproportionately high and thinning operations had to be carried out very carefully in order to avoid wind throw. In the homogeneous coniferous stands (mainly Scots pines) and mixed coniferous forest (European larch, Douglas and Black pine), thinnings were scarce and postponed to advanced age. In the period following the purchase, an active afforestation policy was implemented and almost half of all pastures were afforested with coniferous and hardwood species. In addition, many plantations were carried out in the understory of existing coniferous stands, after conducting thinnings in the overstorey. In the first management plan, forest management actions were scheduled for a period of twenty years. The first thinnings from above, conducted in coniferous stands, took off with a length of thinning cycle of 3 years (to diminish the probability of wind throw). After 3 interventions, the length of the thinning cycle was increased to a period of six years. For the homogeneous hardwood stands, the length of the thinning cycle was 6 years with an optional intervention every 3 years. At the start of the new management plan "Kabras" in 2009, the length of the thinning cycle was further increased to 8 years. This is a logical choice given the fact that stands had grown older and trees were better adapted to the larger spacing patterns. Meanwhile, the abatement of the invasive species Black Cherry (main treatment) was almost completed and also the dense Rhododendron thickets had been successfully treated. Abatement was conducted using glyphosate (stub treatment) and leaf spraying (post-treatment). Due to the large browsing pressure by mainly roe deer, all young plantings on pastures had to be fenced for a period of 10 years. Tree saplings and seedlings were provided by an own tree nursery. After finishing the first forest management plan (from 1981), ideas about forestry had evolved and new visions enlightened the minds of the foresters. A close to nature management was implemented, which involved a higher presence of dead wood (initially 4%, later 10%), creation of more patches in forest stands, induction of natural regeneration, heathland restoration, nutrient impoverishment practices, new water management practices, ... Techniques such as girdling trees, generating more dead wood, were highly contested in the beginning but were necessary to increase the share of dead wood. Also in young plantations open patches were created. Forest harvest became less important and forest management is actually in favor of increasing the average forest age in the region and increasing the proportion of snags, den trees and wolf trees. Coppice management was restored. An “idle time” was everywhere imposed. Skid trails have become common practice to prevent soil degradation. Existing bunkers were redesigned as shelter for bat colonies and vernal ponds were constructed to restore amphibian population. Nutrient impoverishment of grasslands and heathlands were induced by mowing and livestock grazing. Education was provided via learning paths equipped with signs. Monitoring of red list species has been put high on the priority list. More snags can be found along hiking trails and tree lines. They are topped to enable the visitor to follow the natural decay process. Conclusion: "De Inslag" can boast a longstanding reputation as state forest with almost 40 years of excellent forest management. Within this time span, the state forest has undergone a whole transformation towards a close to nature managed forest. The future will undoubtedly entail further changes and challenges. The forest research site The forest research site of Brasschaat is a 2 ha large scientific zone, established in a first generation plantation (1929) of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on former heathland. The site is equipped with a measuring tower and an intensive forest monitoring plot (ICP Forests level II) and other research facilities (permanent constructions for equipment and staff, units for measurements of ground water table, soil moisture, plant chambers for CO2 exchange measurements). There is also a meteorological back-up station and a wet-only collector on an adjacent pasture. 2 ICP Forests Combined Meeting of the Expert Panels on Crown Condition, Foliar and Litterfall, Soil and Soil Solution, Deposition and the Working Group on Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Laboratories, 25 – 29 March 2019, Brussels, Belgium The site is an LTER site documented in DEIMS (more info: https://deims.org/68e6a8e5-d6d2-4c8c-91c4-10e7f87ac556). The basal area of the Scots pine stand amounts to 25 m2 ha-1. The annual volume increment is lower than 3 m3 ha-1 a-1. After the abatement of invasive shrub species, the under- and middle story was recolonized by volunteering species, mainly birches but also rowans. The seedlings of Scots pines are poor in growth and do not appear as intermediate trees. The air pollution characteristics at this site are typical for a suburban forest exposed to vehicle emission (NOx), which is strongly affecting the NO-NO2-O3 chemistry. The site is, additionally, located in the waste plume derived from stack emissions (SO2, NOx, black carbon) generated by the petrochemical refinery in Antwerp port. Although no important agricultural emission sources are present in close proximity to the site, ammonia levels are elevated when winds blow from the eastern wind sector (due to remote agricultural activities > 5 km). The monitoring of air pollutants will be continued with special focus on chemical and biological recovery of the forest ecosystem from historical elevated sulphur and nitrogen depositions and the combined effects of ozone, nitrogen and climate change on forest ecosystem functioning. Figure 1: Location of the forest “De Inslag” north-east of the city and the harbour of Antwerp, Flanders 3 ICP Forests Combined Meeting of the Expert Panels on Crown Condition, Foliar and Litterfall, Soil and Soil Solution, Deposition and the Working Group on Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Laboratories, 25 – 29 March 2019, Brussels, Belgium Figure 2: Location of the research site within the Forest of ‘De Inslag’ Guided visit of the Level II plot Organisation of the visit A brief introduction will be held at the cabin. Next we will split into 5 groups and rotate every 15 minutes to the next stop: 1. Measuring Tower (Johan Neirynck) 2. Measurements of deposition, litterfall, soil solution (Arne Verstraeten) 3. Soil characterisation and profile development (Nathalie Cools) 4. Measurement of soil physical parameters (moisture, temperature,

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