Articles

Possibilities for forest development in a zone of controlled inundation in Kruibeke (Eastern Flanders) by means of a geographical information system

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Abstract

As an  area of 750 hectares is going to be constructed as a controlled inundation  zone of the river ScheIdt, a preliminary study of the environmental changes  and the possible shifts in forest types was done by the Laboratory of  Forestry and the Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, both of the  University of Ghent. Based on a digital elevation model and the relation  between water height in the river and the amount of water entering the area  for a given height of the dikes, for each place in the inundation zone the  frequency of inundation was determined.     These frequencies, in combination with the data layers soil texture, soil  drainage, substrate, current land use and historical vegetation data allowed  to determine the potentially natural vegetation according to Van Der Werf  (1991) and to do a prediction of the forest communities most likely to occur  now and for the inundation scenario. Because the very common use of poplar  cultivars, also the future possibilities of these trees were considered. As a  synthesis, a number of management suggestions could be worked out.

How to Cite:

Nachtergale, L., De Schrijver, A., Troch, P. & Lust, N., (1996) “Possibilities for forest development in a zone of controlled inundation in Kruibeke (Eastern Flanders) by means of a geographical information system”, Silva Gandavensis 61. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sg.v61i0.854