Tenders Are Invited For Climate-Adaptive Conversion Of Species-Poor Forests

In The Coming Decades We Are Heading For A Significant Warming Of The Average Annual Temperature, With An Associated Increase In Weather Extremes. Climate Change Is Happening Much Faster Than Forests Can Adapt Themselves. One Of The Measures To Make Forests More Resilient To Climate Change Is To Increase The Number Of Tree Species. We Do This By Planting Clumps In Existing Forests - A Clump Is A Group Of 25 Plants Of The Same Tree Species That Are Planted Close Together. The Most Vital Tree Wins The Competition And Later, With Appropriate Management, Grows Into A Healthy Adult “Future Tree”. - By Planting Those Clods In Existing Forests, “Under The Screen” Of The Canopy Of The Old Forest, The Plants Grow Sheltered From Extreme Heat. - By Planting Clods We Accelerate The Increase In Tree Species Diversity Without First Having To Carry Out Large-Scale Felling. We Only Choose Native Tree Species With Well-Decomposing Leaf Litter In Those Clumps. Since The Game Population In The Flemish Forests Is On Average Very High, The Clogs Must Be Protected Against Being Eaten By Deer In Particular. We Do This With Wooden Grids (So-Called “Deer Blocks”) To Avoid The Use Of Plastic In Forests. Because Most Sandy Soils In Flanders Are Acidified, We Add Substances To The Planting Pit To Provide The Plants With Better Growing Conditions. This Project Supports Strategic Program 7 Of The Anb Business Plan (Blue Deal) (Operationalizing A Strategy For The Adaptation Of Flemish Nature To The Consequences Of Climate Change), Very Specifically For Pine Forests And Mixed Forests With A Significant Share Of Pine. To Make The Planting Sites Accessible, Old Clearing Tracks And Access Roads Will Be Exempt Where Necessary.