Vresselse Bossen

East of the village Nijnsel and Hamlet Vressel, Sint-Oedenrode, North-Brabant, Netherlands is the location of the Vresselse bossen or Vresselsche Bosch (Vressels Forest). The Vresselse Bossen is a forest area of 241 ha. It is owned and managed by the National Forest Service (Staatsbosbeheer). The forest is named after the nearby hamlet Vressel.

It is a young forest that is planted in a drift-sand ridge. At the beginning of the 20th century there was scarcely a tree in the area. The area consisted mainly of sand dunes and heathland. At the edges of the area lived farmers who were severely affected by the shifting sands. To protect the fields was therefore decided to reforest the drift-sand. At that time, almost exclusively pine was used for the reforesting. In the twenties of the 20th century it had become a production forest consisting of Scots pine for the Limburgian mines.

Within the area there are two main fen systems: The Hazenputten and the Oude Putten. Rare vegetation is mainly found around the fens: among others White beak-sedge and bog asphodel can be found here.

The contemporary management by Staatsbosbeheer focuses on getting a more varied forest composition, including native oak, linden and beech. To prevent the Hazenputten from drying, competing vegetation is removed around the pools. The area around the marshes has been grazed by Highland cattle and Exmoor horses in the past.

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Wikipedia