Continued
Rare nature is given plenty of space again in the Noordal
In the Noordal, marshy hayfields and swamp forests are interrupted by high-stemmed orchards and dry slopes. This makes it a home for all kinds of plants and animals. In the coming period, we will be working on the restoration of chalk grasslands and water systems in this special area.
Poor soil, rich nature
You rarely come across chalk grasslands in the Netherlands. Well-developed chalk grasslands are full of flowering herbs in spring and summer, such as hairy rattle and guinen primrose. You traditionally find them on dry, poor slopes where the chalk is shallow in the soil.
Research
Many of these chalk grasslands have become so nutrient-rich that the typical species hardly grow there anymore. Natuurmonumenten has conducted research in the Noordal into possibilities for restoration. Often the enrichment of the soil is so great that restoration is no longer possible. But fortunately there are also promising locations.
Working on recovery
In places where recovery is possible, we scrape the soil by about 15 to 35 cm. This causes the nutrient-rich top layer to disappear. At a number of strategic points, small earth banks are constructed and hedges are planted. This gives rainwater more time to seep into the soil, which helps prevent flooding and desiccation. Some of the scraped-off areas remain open for pioneer plants, which like to grow on bare spots. We apply grass cuttings to another area,
Smart water management
Heavy rain showers increasingly cause flooding, also in the Noordal. This is because long periods of drought and rain alternate. After a dry period, the soil absorbs water poorly. Rainwater flows over agricultural land and roads to the Noor. In the stream, the water flows so quickly that the bed continues to erode, which not only causes flooding but also desiccation.
Protection
That is why we are closing off or making some side streams of the Noor less deep. Rainwater then flows less quickly to the Noor. The groundwater will rise locally. In this way we protect, among other things, the Noorbeemden, a nature reserve along the Noor with limestone tufa springs, wet hayfields and special wet forests.