Dwingelderveld National Park

Dwingelderveld National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is about 37 km² in size.

Photos

Path through the Dwingelderveld

Topographical map of the Dwingelderveld, as of December 2015

Contents

GeneralEdit

This nature reserve in Drenthe is jointly managed by Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten and private individuals (including Scouting Nederland). The Dwingelderveld is the largest wet heathland in Western Europe. The Dwingelderveld has been designated as a Natura 2000 area.

HeatherEdit

It is the differences in height that have formed the Dwingelderveld: wet rifts and dry sand ridges alternate. Many of the vast lowlands have a somewhat peaty character. This variety can be seen in the plants and animals that live there: vipers on the sand, sundew where it is damp.

Without management, the heath would become overgrown with trees and shrubs and then completely turn into a forest. In addition to two flocks of sheep, large grazers are also used, especially cows and Scottish highlanders. Cows on the heath were as common in many places as flocks of sheep. In addition, the Forestry Commission has developed a device that can be used to plough heather mechanically. This machine ensures that rare plants can continue to develop and do not become completely overgrown by the heather and grasses.

In the northeast of the National Park, on the Spieregerweg, the Forestry Commission has cut down a large area of coniferous forest in recent years to make way for heathland. As a result, a large number of smaller, existing heaths with fens were connected to each other to form a new, elongated and extensive heathland of several hundred hectares.

In the north, near Lheebroek, one of the largest juniper thickets in the Netherlands lies around the Lheebroeker Zand

A walking route of the Forestry Commission runs over the Lheebroeker Sand.

Fens Edit

One of the special charms of the Dwingeloose heath is the large number of fens: more than forty. Many of them, the so-called pingo ruins, originated as remnants of ice lenses from the Ice Age. These can be recognized by their remarkably round shape. Others have been created as man-made lowlands, still others as wind-blown lowlands. The Davidsplassen are impressively large. Plants such as peat fluff and water trefoil grow around the fens. Read more about the general article about fens.

Flora Edit

This large heathland landscape is home to a varied raised bog vegetation. A total of four heather species are present: shrub heather (Calluna vulgaris), heather (Erica tetralix), crow heather (Empetrum nigrum) and lavender heather (Andromeda polifolia). In the wet areas there is heather, sundew, peat fluff (Eriophorum vaginatum) and bell gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe). In the drier areas there are shrub heather, crow heather and mouse's ear. There are six species of orchids. Some of them, such as the broad wasp orchid, are common. In some places, such as in the Lheebroekerzand, hundreds of juniper bushes grow on the Dwingelderveld. These mainly came back after the sheep left the heath alone for a while. It is the last place in the Netherlands where the rare sphagnum butterflies (cranberry blue, cranberry fritillary fritillary, and peat haybug) can still be found. [1] The task of the managers is to make nature as original as possible. To give all these (rare) plants and animals a chance to continue to develop, pieces of heather are regularly ploughed. Another management measure is the felling of growing Scots pines that threaten to crowd out the heather plants.

FaunaEdit

Ducks in flight looking for mating partner

A viper warming up in the sun

Three snake species can be found in the Dwingelderveld, namely the adder, the smooth snake and the grass snake. These are also the only three snake species that occur in the Netherlands. The area is particularly rich in butterflies due to its special vegetation: rare species such as the gentian blue and three species of so-called bog butterflies, including the cranberry blue, can still be found in the area. There is also a population of about 400 roe deer.

DesiccationEdit

The Dwingelderveld is internationally known as the most important wet heathland in Western Europe. Because ditches were dug during agricultural reclamation work, desiccation took place. Now that this nature reserve is a national park, ditches and ditches that are not needed are being closed and a lot of coniferous wood is being cut down. The problem of desiccation is mainly caused by the presence of the agricultural enclave of Noordenveld.

Since desiccation control for nature would make agricultural land less usable for the farmer, the only solution is to completely buy out agriculture from the approximately 300 ha Noordenveld. The purchases of land in the Noordenveld were completed at the end of 2007. In 2010, the Provincial Executive of Drenthe adopted a development plan for the area. The work will be carried out in two phases: first removing the phosphate-rich topsoil (35 cm on average) and then filling in the deep ditches. This work started in January 2011. [2]

Visitor CentreEdit

Visitor Centre Dwingelderveld

Outside Ruinen close to the Dwingeloosche Heide is the Dwingelderveld visitor centerof Natuurmonumenten, with a lot of information about the local nature.

RecreationEdit

There are several recreation companies in and around the National Park. These mainly consist of campsites, hotels, restaurants, group accommodations and day recreation centers. On the north side near Lheebroek and near Lhee there are several campsites. In the villages of Dwingeloo and Ruinen that border the area there are several restaurants and hotels. There is also the Planetron in the area where all kinds of information can be gained about astronomy. There is also an outdoor swimming pool and a covered wagon rental in the vicinity of the park.

SheepfoldEdit

Sheepfold Geldings

The sheepfold with the Ruinen sheep herd is located on the Benderse. Every day, a herd of Drenthe heath sheep goes to the heath with the shepherd.

Medieval cart tracksEdit

Although the area has the appearance of untouched nature, man has certainly had an influence. For example, many old cart tracks can be seen on aerial photographs. These are part of an old route from northern Germany to Kampen. Sometimes as many as ten are visible next to each other. If a cart track was worn out too far and too much water remained in it, a new route was sought.

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