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East of the village of Nijnsel and the hamlet of Vressel, both in 
It is a young forest that planted in a drift-sand ridge.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was scarcely a tree in the area. The area consisted mainly of dunes and heathland.
At the edges of the area lived farmers who were severely affected by the shifting sands. To protect the fields was therefore decided to reforest the drift-sand. At that time, almost exclusively pine was used for the reforesting. In the twenties of the 20th century, it had become a production forest consisting of Scots pine for the Limburgian mines.
Within the area, there are two main fen systems: The Hazenputten and the Oude Putten. Rare vegetation is found around the fens: among others
Meierijstad
Meierijstad () is a municipality in the province of North Brabant. The municipality is the result of a merger between the municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel in 2017. After the merger it became the largest municipality in terms of ...
, North Brabant, Netherlands, is the location of the Vresselse bossen or ''Vresselsche Bosch'' (Vressels Forest).
The Vresselse Bossen is a forest area of 241 ha. It is owned and managed by the National Forest Service ( Staatsbosbeheer).
The forest is named after the nearby hamlet of Vressel.
It is a young forest that planted in a drift-sand ridge.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was scarcely a tree in the area. The area consisted mainly of dunes and heathland.
At the edges of the area lived farmers who were severely affected by the shifting sands. To protect the fields was therefore decided to reforest the drift-sand. At that time, almost exclusively pine was used for the reforesting. In the twenties of the 20th century, it had become a production forest consisting of Scots pine for the Limburgian mines.
Within the area, there are two main fen systems: The Hazenputten and the Oude Putten. Rare vegetation is found around the fens: among others White beak-sedge
''Rhynchospora alba'', the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial around 50 cm tall, with white inflorescences that flower in August. The fruit of the sedge is a small achene with a ...
and bog asphodel can be found here.
The contemporary management by Staatsbosbeheer focuses on getting a more varied forest composition, including native oak, linden and beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
. To prevent the Hazenputten from drying, competing for vegetation is removed around the pools.
The area around the marshes has been grazed by Highland cattle and Exmoor horses in the past.
The area has a rich bird population. Breeding birds are: yellowhammer, kingfisher, black woodpecker
The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...
, northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
, little grebe, European green woodpecker
The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...
, common buzzard
The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...
, great egret, long-eared owl, coal tit, little owl
The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at ...
, barn owl
The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...
and crested tit.
Also many species of mammals can be encountered:
These include: roe deer, European badger, Eurasian harvest mouse
The harvest mouse (''Micromys minutus'') is a small rodent native to Europe and Asia. It is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass and hedgerows. It ...
, European polecat, European water vole, European hedgehog, Eurasian red squirrel
The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
, common pipistrelle, European hare, brown long-eared bat, stoat, serotine bat, European mole, Natterer's bat, least weasel
The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has bee ...
, red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
, Daubenton's bat, beech marten and several species of shrew, dormice, apodemus and arvicolinae.
The "Hazenputten" was nominated by Staatsbosbeheer for the title of "Most beautiful spot" in the Netherlands in 2013.
The Vresselse Bossen are part of Het Groene Woud
Het Groene Woud (The Green Forest) is a special area of the Netherlands which is located in North Brabant between the cities of Tilburg, Eindhoven and 's-Hertogenbosch. It includes nature reserves such as the Kampina, the Oisterwijk forests and f ...
, a vast nature area between Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Den Bosch and Tilburg.
West of the Vresselse Bossen lies the valley of the Dommel; in the northwest, the Vresselse Forest reaches the
Fen in the Vresselse Bossen.JPG
Hazenputten in the Vresselse Bossen during summer.JPG
The Hazenputten in the Vresselse Bossen.JPG
Vresselse Bossen.JPG
Water in the Vresselse Bossen.JPG
Vressels Bosch.jpg
Hazenputten, Vressels Bos.jpg
Moerkuilen The Moerkuilen are, along with the Dommelbeemden a forestry area in a bend of the Dommel river north east of Nijnsel in Meierijstad. It is located at the Lieshoutse Dijk, not far from the A50 motorway. The protected area measures over 100 acres and ...
.
To the north, there is the reclaimed heathland of the Jekschot Heath and to the east lies the DAF
Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...
test track and Mariahout Forest.
Trivia
* A medium-distance hike can be done in the area while there are also some shorter circular walks possible. * The area at the Hazenputten has been affected by a small bush fire on March 7, 2014.Gallery
References
{{coord, 51.5471, N, 5.5146, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:NL, display=title Forests of the Netherlands Geography of North Brabant Meierijstad