t Asbroek is a nature domain and forest in the municipality of

Schoten Schoten () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gi ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, 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 The Flemish Government ( ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President of Flanders, Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Par ...

as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

History

Historically, 't Asbroek formed part of the adjacent Amerlo castle domain. The lower part of the domain was mostly

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

(''broek'' in older Dutch) filled with ash (''asch'' in older Dutch) trees, hence giving the forest its name. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the domain was struck twice by V-bombs directed at the

port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...

. After 1945 a large portion of the domain was planted with dense rows of

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

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 the area back to its original state with only indigenous vegetation.

Ecology

Along with Vordenstein park and the Peerdsbos forest, 't Asbroek forms part of a chain of forested domains at the northeastern border of the city of Antwerp, which houses a Roe deer population. The domain can be classified as a carr with iron-rich seeps that can cause the puddles and streams to color orange or red. The craters created by the V-bombs have become puddles which are inhabited by the

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 thr ...

salamander. The forest also houses a diverse bird population, including the

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. ...

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

and various

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), 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 ...

species.

References

External links

't Asbroek
information provided by {{in lang, nl Forests of Belgium Geography of Antwerp Province