Lochem-van der Wel, S. van.

Boshistorie in de praktijk van het natuurbeheer.

Historisch geografisch tijdschrift 31 (2013) 172 - 181.

Cultuurhistorie in bossen bestaat uit meer dan zichtbare en relatief vaststaande relicten als boswallen alleen. De boshistorie herbergt ook sporen van vergankelijker aard, vastgelegd in het Ievende materiaal, de bom zelf en in de bodem. Wat betekenen deze historische relicten van de bosbouw, aanplant, beheer en gebruik voor de omgang met bossen bij een natuurorganisatie als Natuurmonumenten?

Forest heritage and the day-to-day management of nature and forest

Cultural heritage in forests consists of more than visible and relatively fixed relics as boundary banks alone. The forest heritage contains elements of a perishable nature, embedded in the living material, the trees themselves, and in the soil. The article describes historical relics of forestry, forest management and forest use. These are traces of the preparation of the soil such as ditches and pits, the type of afforestation and the species of trees used, traces of wood processing such as saw pits, forestry experiments and management methods such as coppice. It is necessary to assess this forest heritage and fill in gaps in our knowledge in order to be able to make choices between the conservation of these elements and other interests. Finally, the opportunities Natuurmonumenten, a nationwide organization for the conservation of nature in the Netherlands, for preserving these historical relics in the day-to-day management of nature and forest are discussed.