Application of the Ancient Forest Concept to Potential Natural Vegetation Mapping in Flanders, A Strongly Altered Landscape in Northern Belgium

• Published in: Folia geobotanica Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 137 - 162
• Main Authors: De Keersmaeker, Luc, Rogiers, Nele, Vandekerkhove, Kris, De Vos, Bruno, Roelandt, Bart, Cornelis, Johnny, De Schrijver, An, Onkelinx, Thierry, Thomaes, Arno, Hermy, Martin, Verheyen, Kris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic 01.06.2013; Springer Netherlands
• Subjects: Alluvial soils; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Deciduous forests; Forest cover; Forest ecology; Forest management; Forest soils; Life Sciences; Old growth forests; Plant Ecology; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Plants; Silt loam soils; Vegetation; Naturalness; Ellenberg indicator values; Land-use history; Vegetation mapping

Construction of potential natural vegetation (PNV) poses particular challenges in landscapes heavily altered by human activity and must be based on transparent, repeatable methods. We integrated the concept of ancient forest (AF) and ancient forest species (AFS) into a four-step procedure of PNV map...