PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The poor sandy subsoil in the Kempen and the terrace landscape along the Maas were never well suited to farming, with the result that extensive agriculture and biological diversity coexisted for many years. Even now, the two Limburg Provinces are the biologically most diverse regions in the Low Countries and have the potential to make a major contribution to the Natura 2000 network. Population increase, urbanisation and the rise of intensive agriculture, however, are putting pressure on numerous natural resources. Especially wet ecosystems dry up and become polluted: oligotrophic lakes, wet grasslands, humid heath - habitat types of Community interest - are the subject of this LIFE project. For a number of years, the two Limburgs Landschap foundations have been involved in cross-border cooperation to develop their natural assets. Their cooperation focuses not only on nature, but also on appropriate tourism, with environmental protection being an important factor in the sustainable development of the region. It should be remembered that the region lies within easy reach of major cities such as Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and Düsseldorf.
OBJECTIVES
The project intended to restore poor hay meadows and wet fenlands in Belgian Limburg (Grootbroek and Itterbeek-Bosbeekvallei) and oligotrophic lakes, groundwater source areas and humid river dunes along the River Maas in the Dutch Province of Limburg. In the southern part of the Dutch province (Zuid-Limburg, Geuldal) the accent was on sustainable recreation and public awareness. The main thrust of the measures was one-off work in order to enhance the ecological and hydrological environment of the degraded biotopes and to link fragmented areas to form larger units. More specifically, this would entail the purchase of land, followed by the actual restoration work: removing excessively manured soil, digging fens and ponds, sealing them off, getting grazing started, clearing overgrown areas and felling non-native trees. Experience had shown that once ponds have been dug and sealed, aquatic vegetation soon regenerates and the unique flora associated with oligotrophic ponds bursts into life. The typical biotopes associated with the Kempen and Maas valley areas would then develop under their own dynamics, with the help of appropriate recurring management.
RESULTS
During the project, the following was achieved: - 305 ha of land purchased, of which 162 ha charged to LIFE; - removal of topsoil to create new oligotrophic lake at Heerenven subsite (Netherlands) and indirectly rehumidify surrounding land; 160,000 m³ soil enriched by nutrients was removed from 55 ha former arable land, to create a broad oligotrophic lake, 82 ha indirectly rehumidified; - conversion of poplar forest in De Zig (Belgium) to 30 ha wetland: trees removed and land excavated to pools, meandering brooks and wet grassland; - diverse actions to restore habitats in other subsites: excavation of 19 pools and 3 humid depressions, closure or modification of ditches, renaturalisation of brooks, removal of exotic trees, clearing overgrowth to restore heaths or grasslands, restoration of bare sand ecosystems in former sand quarry, cutting birches from banks of an oligotrophic lake; - purchase equipment for recurring management; a test was begun to see if late mowing, or late mowing & grazing, is best recurring management (at subsites Tösch and Itterbeekvallei, Belgium); - guided excursions, work camps, school visits: number of participants varied from 10 to 30 per event, over 70 such events in last project year alone; - 30 nature guides trained; they qualified in Sept. 2003 and began working in the two Dutch subsites; - two new wardens employed: one for Belgian subsites, one for Geuldal, plus support for on-going wardening in Maasduinen; wardening was very important in the Dutch subsites, which had severe problems with littering, vandalism and disturbance, especially Geuldal; the two new wardens were given permanent jobs at the end of the LIFE project; - one brochure explaning the LIFE project distributed by post (25.000 issues) to all households in the four municipalities surrounding the Belgian subsites; - two leaflets about the Dutch subsites; - ex-ante and ex-post monitoring. The main conservation benefit was through the pilot action to create a new 55 ha oligotrophic lake (habitat code 3130) with 82 ha associated humid terrestrial habitats, at Heerenven, following acquisition by LIFE of the corresponding block of land. Monitoring showed that several threatened species have returned (especially pioneers, which must have been in the seedbank, e.g. Erica tetralix, Genthiana pneumonanthe) and that plovers, geese and herons have quickly colonised the new lake. 5 of the 6 amphibian species present have increased in population (especially Rana arvalis, R. lessonae and Bufo calamita). Diversity and populations of grasshoppers, butterflies (30 species compared to 21 before restoration) and dragonflies (27 species compared to 19 before restoration) increased. These results demonstrate it is possible to convert heavily-fertilised arable land to oligotrophic and mesotrophic pools/lakes and heaths in a short space of time. At the other subsites, land purchase allowed many gaps between land already owned by the beneficiary to be closed, creating larger coherent blocks. This in turn made management much easier. The target was to restore the mosaic of wet grassland, pools, meandering brooks, alder swamp forest, heath and oak-dominated deciduous woodland, which existed at these sites in recent historic times. One-off restoration works were followed by appropriate recurring management. Habitat types which benefit are: 3130 oligotrophic waters; 4030 dry heath; 9190 acidic oak wood; 91E0 Alnion glutinosae; 6510 lowland hay meadows. The sites in question together have a regional significance. First results are apparent: increased breeding success of birds such as Caprimulgus europaeus and increased occurrence of plant species of oligotrophic habitats (Utricularia, Ranunculus lingua). The Annex II fish Misgurnus fossilis was rediscovered in the Zig area in 2003 and 25 migrating cranes rested there in Oct. 2003. Parallel to LIFE, Interreg funds were used for habitat restoration and for visitor infrastructure. The beneficiary and his partner will continue to manage the sites after LIFE, using national and regional subsidies, and try to expand them.