Plant monitoring in the Grenspark
Both animals and plants are monitored in Grenspark Kalmthoutse Heide. Twice a year, volunteers meet to discuss and evaluate the monitoring. Usually the volunteers go out on their own, but occasionally they also go into the field together. In late June 2022, the plant monitors agreed to monitor an area together. The intention was to try out a new method of monitoring, namely management monitoring. Since it is impossible to monitor the entire natural area in the Grenspark for plants, a selection of interesting places is made. These places should be well defined so that later (e.g. after 3 or 6 years) the exact same place can be monitored again.
With smartphone, book and magnifying glass in hand, the terrain is searched for flora present. Identifying the grass species is not always obvious, but together we succeed better. The species are entered on a field form, followed by a code that determines the cover class. The cover class ranges from "few in number" to "dominant". Later, the data are entered digitally in the input module of INBO (Institute for Nature and Forest Research).
Are you interested in helping with plant monitoring? Then send an e-mail togrenspark