Reclaimed lakes

The Netherlands is famous for its polders reclaimed from "the sea" - which have actually been reclaimed from impounded sea, i.e. lakes. These types of polder are called droogmakerijen in Dutch. They are created by pumping the water out of endiked lakes. The earliest such polders have a very open landscape; the more recent ones have many lines of trees and forest plantations.

Characteristics

The geometrical landscape of drained lakes is the most characteristic Dutch landscape, and is rare outside the Netherlands. Its characteristic elements are openness, the perimeter dikes and waterways, the rectangular land parcellation and grid pattern of roads, and the avenues of trees. The polders have been laid out to fulfil agricultural functions, but there is a clear difference in the scale and infrastructure of the 17^th century polders such as the Beemster and the Schermer and the 20^th century Zuiderzee polders. In the latter polders, created in the last half of the 20^th century, there are many more plantations of shrubs and trees than in the old polders.

Trends

Until recently, the landscape of polders reclaimed from lakes was barely spoiled, but in recent decades urbanisation has encroached on the openness. In the old polders, trees were being felled up until 1980, but since then there has been some increase in tree planting (see figure). In the young polders, such as those in Flevoland, there was much tree planting as soon as the infrastructure and parcellation were in place.

Technical note

The data are from an analysis of the changes in the cultural landscape based on random samples from the 1x1 km grid squares of the 1:25 000 topographical map.

References

Dijkstra, H., J.F. Coeterier, A. van der Haar, A.J.M. Koomen en W.L.C. Salden (1997). Veranderend cultuurlandschap. Signalering van landschapsveranderingen van 1900 tot 1990 voor de Natuurverkenning 1997. Rapport 544. DLO-Staring Centrum. Wageningen.
Geertsema, W. (2002). Het belang van groenblauwe dooradering voor natuur en landschap. Achtergronddocument Natuurbalans 2002. Reeks 'Planbureau-werk in uitvoering', Werkdocument 2002/02. Natuurplanbureau/Alterra. Wageningen.