New community forests

Update: walking route Forest will be accessible again from 11/3/2021

From February to mid-March 2021, the Agency for Nature and Forest (ANB) is thinning out the central part of the Nieuwe Gemeentebossen. 'Thinning' is the removal of trees in the forest without the forest disappearing. There may be damage to the roads, but ANB will restore them afterwards. When the works start, on-site paths (including footpath BOS) may be temporarily closed for safety.

The Nieuwe Gemeentebossen is a forest of Corsican pines planted manually in the 1950s to make the 'wasteland' profitable. The trees were supposed to be cut down for mining in Limburg. But they were not yet fully grown when those mines closed. So they continued to grow and now form a lacklustre forest.

Thinning this type of forest every ten years makes it more natural and ecologically valuable. The trees that remain are 'future trees'. These get a blue dot and can grow old and thicker. This can only be achieved by removing the surrounding trees. In this way, more light shines on the soil, allowing new, young trees to grow. In doing so, ANB mainly gives a chance to native deciduous tree species such as rowan, spork, birch and oak. These species provide more biodiversity, as many animals prefer them to Corsican pines. In addition, a varied forest with more different species is much less of a fire hazard.

The logs will be stacked to the left and right of the sandy path, near the Putsesteenweg. What the timber is used for depends on what the demand on the timber market is at the time. A common application is OSB boards for use in construction. The proceeds from the wood are reused within the Agency for Nature and Forests for nature projects.

Find out more about why ANB is cutting down trees at www.natuurenbos.be/kappenvanbomen