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't Asbroek
t Asbroek is a nature domain and forest in the municipality of Schoten, Belgium, covering an area of 12 ha. The domain is owned by the municipality of Schoten and managed by nature conservation organisation since 1998. It is officially recognised by the Flemish government as a nature reserve. History Historically, 't Asbroek formed part of the adjacent Amerlo castle domain. The lower part of the domain was mostly wetland (''broek'' in older Dutch) filled with ash (''asch'' in older Dutch) trees, hence giving the forest its name. During the Second World War the domain was struck twice by V-bombs directed at the port of Antwerp. After 1945 a large portion of the domain was planted with dense rows of Aspen trees for future logging. After the handover to Natuurpunt, commercial logging was halted. However, because of trunk rot a large number of Aspen trees had to be cut down in 2019 in order to protect adjacent residential housing. In the long term, Natuurpunt hopes to restore th ...
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Aspen Trunk Rot
Aspen trunk rot is a fungal disease that causes stem decay heart rot of living aspen trees. The pathogen that causes this disease is the fungus '' Phellinus tremulae''. Most of the symptoms of this disease are internal, with the only external signs of a diseased aspen being fruiting bodies called conks. A single conk found on an aspen can indicate advanced decay of up 82% of the tree volume. Internal decayed wood of freshly cut aspens is spongy, yellow/white colored, surrounded by black zones of discoloration, and contains a distinct wintergreen smell. The fungus is spread via airborne spores released from the fruiting body which can infect through dead branches, branch stubs, or wounds in the tree. Although no direct management control is known, harvesting aspen stands that have been damaged or harvesting stands before decay becomes advanced minimizes tree loss. Aspen wood is white, malleable but strong, and heat-tolerant and therefore has many commercial uses including matches, pac ...
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Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. Members of this family are chiefly known for their characteristic behaviour. They mostly forage for insect prey on the trunks and branches of trees, and often communicate by drumming with their beaks, producing a reverberatory sound that can be heard at some distance. Some species vary their diet with fruits, birds' eggs, small animals, tree sap, human scraps, and carrion. They usually nest and roost in holes that they excavate in tree trunks, and their abandoned holes are of importance to other cavity-nesting birds. They sometimes com ...
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Tawny Owl
The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, and whose upper body may be either brown or grey. (In several subspecies, individuals may be of either color.) The tawny owl typically makes its nest in a tree hole where it can protect its eggs and young against potential predators. It is non-migratory and highly territorial: as a result, when young birds grow up and leave the parental nest, if they cannot find a vacant territory to claim as their own, they will often starve. The tawny owl is a nocturnal bird of prey. It is able to hunt successfully at night because of its vision and hearing adaptations and its ability to fly silently. It usually hunts by dropping suddenly from a perch and seizing its prey, which it swallows whole. It hunts mainly rodents, although in urbanized areas its d ...
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Eurasian Nuthatch
The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (''Sitta europaea'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud ''dwip'' call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the east have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat. Its preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs hold permanent territories, and nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests, but sometimes natural cavities. If the entrance to the hole is too large, the female plasters it with mud to reduce its size, and often coats the inside of the cavity too. The 6–9 red-speckled white eggs are laid on a deep base of pin ...
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Palmate Newt
The palmate newt (''Lissotriton helveticus'') is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the throat, unlike in the similar smooth newt, always unspotted. A dark stripe runs along the head and through the eyes. Breeding males develop a distinct filament on the end of their tail, strongly webbed hind feet, and a low, smooth crest on their back. Habitats include forests, marshes, pastures or gardens. While on land, the newts are mainly nocturnal. After emerging from hibernation in spring, they move to stagnant, fish-free water bodies for breeding. After a courtship display, the male deposits a spermatophore that is picked up by the female. Larvae develop over after 1.5–3.5 months before metamorphosing into land-dwelling juveniles (efts). Sexual maturity is reached after two to three years, and the newts can reach a total age of up ...
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Seep (hydrology)
A seep or flush is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the earth's surface from an underground aquifer. Description Seeps are usually not of sufficient volume to be flowing beyond their immediate above-ground location. They are part of the limnology-geomorphology system. Like a higher volume spring, the water is only from underground sources. Seeps mostly occur in lower elevation areas because water runs downhill, but can happen higher up if the groundwater present is abundant enough. Along with natural seeps, man made seeps can occur by digging anywhere where there is wet ground. This method can be useful for survival purposes and helps the local wildlife by adding another water source to the area. Seeps often form a puddle, and are important for small wildlife, bird, and butterfly habitat and moisture needs. When they support mud-puddling many butterfly (''Lepidoptera'') species can obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids, including some types ...
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Carr (landform)
A carr is a type of waterlogged wooded terrain that, typically, represents a succession stage between the original reedy marsh and the likely eventual formation of forest in a sub-maritime climate.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . Carrs are wetlands that are dominated by shrubs rather than trees. The carr is one stage in a hydrosere: the progression of vegetation beginning from a terrain submerged by fresh water along a river or lake margin. In sub-maritime regions, it begins with reed-marsh. As the reeds decay, the soil surface eventually rises above the water, creating fens that allow vegetation such as sedge to grow. As this progression continues, riparian trees and bushes appear and a carr landscape is created – in effect a wooded fen in a waterlogged terrain. At this stage, overall, unlike the overwhelming acidity of decaying reeds, the pH is not too acidic and the soil is not too deficient in minerals, making a habitat fo ...
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Roe Deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. The species is widespread in Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, from Scotland to the Caucasus, and east to northern Iran and Iraq. Etymology English ''roe'' is from Old English ''rā'' or ''rāha'', from Proto-Germanic ''*raihô'', cognate with Old Norse ''rá'', Old Saxon ''rēho'', Middle Dutch and Dutch ''ree'', Old High German ''rēh'', ''rēho'', ''rēia'', German ''Reh''. It is perhaps ultimately derived from a PIE root ''*rei-'', meaning "streaked, spotted or striped". The word is attested on the 5th-century Caistor-by-Norwich astragalus -a roe deer talus bone, written in Elder Futhark as , transliterated as ''raïhan''. In the English language, this deer was originally simply called a 'roe', b ...
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Peerdsbos
The Peerdsbos is a forest and nature domain situated in the Belgian municipalities of Brasschaat and Schoten, to the north of the city of Antwerp. The domain largely consists of forests and directly borders the Vordenstein domain in Schoten to the south-east, and the Brasschaat municipal park to the northwest. History The Peerdsbos is the oldest known forest domain in the present-day province of Antwerp. Historically, the forest formed a part of the ''Bremdonk'' domain, which contained acres, meadows and forests used for logging and was donated to the Antwerp Sint-Elisabeth hospital by Isabella of Breda in 1280. During the following centuries the hospital used the rents earned by leasing the property to finance its operations. Until recently, the domain was still property of the Public Centre for Social Welfare. In the course of time, large parts of the original domain were sold and parceled out. Also, Brasschaat mayors Van Havre and Reussens bought parts of the Peerdsbos do ...
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Vordenstein Park
The Vordenstein domain is a park in the Belgian municipality of Schoten, northeast of Antwerp. It separated from the adjacent Peerdsbos forest by the E19 highway to the North. History The Vordenstein domain was created in the 14th century out of the ''Hof ter Katen'' and the ''Hof van de Werve''. At that time, the domain had a mainly agrarian function, with the feudal lord leasing patches of the land to various farmers. Starting in the 18th century, the domain gradually evolved into a recreational estate with a castle and an extensive pleasure garden, owned by a succession of wealthy families from Antwerp as a countryside retreat. In 1980 the majority of the park was eventually bought by the Belgian state, and subsequently opened to the public. A smaller part in the middle of the domain remains privately owned by the De Pret family that inherited the domain at the beginning of the 20th century. Layout The majority of the present day layout stems from the 18th and 19th cen ...
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Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') *''Populus davidiana'' – Korean aspen (Eastern Asia) *''Populus grandidentata'' – Bigtooth aspen (eastern North America, south of ''P. tremuloides'') *''Populus sieboldii'' – Japanese aspen (Japan) *''Populus tremula'' – Eurasian aspen (northern Europe and Asia) *''Populus tremuloides'' – Quaking aspen or trembling aspen (northern and western North America) Habitat and longevity The trembling of the leaves of the trembling aspen Aspen trees are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the northern hemisphere, extending south at high-altitude areas such as mountains or high plains. They are all medium-sized deciduous trees reaching tall. In North America, the aspen is referred to ...
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