Meadows
Working towards nutrient-poor grasslands
Many wet heathlands have been transformed into pastures since 1900. Although these areas make up a small part of the total area of the Grenspark, the grasslands are of scenic, cultural-historical and ecological importance.
Wet heathland was drained and fertilised: this is how the meadows in Grenspark Kalmthoutse Heide came into being. This fertilisation, in the middle of a nutrient-poor nature reserve, had a negative effect on the environment. Several managers of the Grenspark are aiming for a management agreement with farmers or, even better, buying the land in due course. Their aim is to enable more nature-friendly management by stopping fertilisation and dewatering. This will allow various grasses and herbs to grow again on nutrient-poor grasslands.
MTB News from the park
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Flora and fauna
Without fertilisation and dewatering, grasslands develop herb-rich vegetation with cogongrass, cuckoo grass, bucktoothed foxtail, cuckoo flower, heron's broom and reclining wing flower. In summer, this is then a paradise for butterfly species like sandpipers and bluethroats and insects like grasshoppers and hoverflies.
The lapwing, redshank, black-tailed godwit, shoveler and garganey like to stay in the wet meadows. On drier parts, the skylark and meadow pipit look for food and a suitable place to nest. During migration, the meadows attract waders such as snipe, whitethroat, greenshank and common sandpiper, while in winter you can regularly see groups of greylag geese, white-fronted geese and Canada geese.