The LIFE Delta project in the Webbekomsbroek

As part of the Life Delta project supported by Europe, and the new nature management plan, ANB is carrying out several works in the area. The valley system is being restored to how it has existed for centuries. To gain more mowable and grazable grasslands with higher biodiversity, (willow) saplings will be removed. The grasslands will then be managed together with local farmers.

Also, the plots with dwindling poplar trees, planted for timber production, are being transformed into grassland or reed beds. An abandoned weekend pond with dead spruces from the typographer will become marshland. Elsewhere, we manage the wooded edges and pollard trees.

Together with the water manager -VMM- we are working on a more natural and better groundwater level. Ditches and trenches are being filled in or shallowed. This way, more water will be absorbed by the soil, helping to prevent drought. Meanwhile, during floods, the water retention capacity remains maximally utilized.

Did you know that these wetlands play an important role in climate warming? The heavy clay soils in the Demer Valley capture large amounts of CO2, provided the groundwater level remains high. To compensate, a significant amount of forest is being planted around the historic forest complex on Sint-Jansberg.

Jan Rymenams