(3)For centuries, coppice and coppice-with-standards were the main forest management systems in the northern and central parts of present Belgium. A high population density and a low forest cover in the whole region resulted in a high demand for wood, therefore strict regulations and management regimes were necessary to prevent overexploitation. We illustrate this with a well-documented case, that of Meerdaal Forest in Central Belgium, with reference to other sites in the region. Meerdaal Forest is a woodland 30 km east of Brussels. For centuries its high quality timber stands, especially oak, were managed as coppice-with-standards, with a gradually increasing share of standard trees. Using archive documents and ancient maps, we have reconstructed how this coppice-with-standard management has been developed and optimized over a period of about 500 years. Changes in cutting cycles and configurations were discerned, with a gradual increase of the importance of the standard layer over time. The analysis also showed how wood production could be successfully combined with other sources of income like grazing and pannage. We conclude that former managers of Meerdaal Forest, notwithstanding their lack of scholarship and reference works, developed a state-of-the-art sustainable and flexible management regime that allowed to provide high revenues during many centuries.

Abstract:The increasing severity and frequency of summer droughts at mid-latitudes in Europe may impact forest regeneration. We investigated whether the sympatric species Quercus robur L., Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl., and their morphological intermediates respond differentially to water deficit. Acorns were sourced from a naturally mixed population. Half of the potted seedlings were subjected to two successive drought periods during the first growing season, each followed by a plentiful re-watering. The surviving drought-exposed seedlings subsisted independent of the taxon of the mother tree. The phenological responses were also taxon-independent. However, drought-exposed plants showed a retarded height growth in the year following the treatment which was taxon-dependent. Offspring from Q. robur and from trees with leaves resembling Q. robur leaves and infructescences resembling Q. petraea infructescences showed a stronger decrease in height growth compared to the offspring from Q. petraea and from trees with leaves resembling Q. petraea leaves and infructescences resembling Q. robur infructescences. Diameter growth in the year following the drought treatment showed a weak taxon-dependent response. Together, our results may suggest that the composition of oak species and their hybrids in natural oak forests could be altered upon prolonged periods of precipitation deficit.

-This paper describes the ground floor vegetation that developed four years after tillage implements in an ancient beech forest in central Belgium. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to explore whether tillage has a lasting effect on soil compaction and soil moisture as well as on vegetation characteristics; and (2) to analyse whether two distinct tillage treatments (rotary plough vs. disc plough), combined with vegetation control when necessary, have the same effect on soil compaction, soil moisture and plant establishment. Of the 29 species recorded, 15 showed a significant recovery after soil loosening in the studied forest area. Interestingly, different tillage treatments did not have the same influence on plant establishment. Treatment effects on soil structure and/or moisture status can be considered as causing the observed growth response.ancient forest species / forest understory / soil compaction / soil tillage / soil loosening technique Résumé -Effets de traitements mécaniques du sol combinés à un contrôle de la ronce et de la fougère aigle sur la restauration d'un sous-bois dégradé dans une ancienne hêtraie. Cette étude décrit la flore herbacée qui s'est développée quatre années après la mise en place d'expériences de traitement mécanique du sol dans une ancienne hêtraie dans le centre de la Belgique. Les objectifs furent : (1) explorer si le traitement mécanique du sol a un effet durable sur la compaction et l'humidité du sol et sur les caractéristiques de la végétation ; et (2) analyser si deux traitements effectués avec des machines différentes (crabe et fraise rotative), combinés à un contrôle de la végétation si nécessaire, ont le même effet sur la compaction et l'humidité du sol et sur l'établissement des plantes. Parmi les 29 espèces inventoriées, 15 ont montré un développement significatif suite au labour du sol dans les zones expérimentales étudiées. Il est intéressant de constater que les différents traitements n'ont pas eu la même influence sur l'établissement des espèces végétales. L'effet des traitements sur la structure et/ou l'humidité du sol peut être considéré comme étant la cause de la réponse végétale observée.espèces des forêts anciennes / sous-bois / compaction du sol / labour du sol / technique d'ameublissement du sol

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Background and Objectives: Summer droughts are expected to increase in central and western Europe both in terms of frequency and intensity, justifying studies on longer term legacies of drought stress on tree species and their hybrids. Materials and Methods: We studied the longer-term after effects of water withholding and re-watering in the first growing season of potted seedlings from the sympatric species Quercus robur L., Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and their morphological intermediates. Phenology, growth, and plant architecture were examined after a cut-back of the stems at the end of the third growing season. Results: The legacy of the first-year water limitation is faded in the phenological response. Nonetheless, leaf senescence occurred later in offspring from Q. robur than in offspring from Q. petraea at the end of the fourth growing season and leafing out tended to be later in the subsequent growing season. Offspring from the intermediate forms displayed variable phenological responses. Height and radial growth were still affected by the drought stress in a taxon-dependent way, with the offspring from Q. petraea displaying growth reduction both in height and diameter, whereas offspring from Q. robur did not show any differences anymore between control and treated plants, demonstrating better post-stress recovery in Q. robur. Offspring from morphological intermediates responded again in a variable way. Although the number of reshoots after cutting back the stems was not affected anymore by the drought treatment in the first growing season, the number of side shoots on the reshoots was still reduced in the drought treated group of plants, independent of the taxon of the mother tree. Conclusions: Together, our results demonstrate the longer-lasting effects of drought stress on oak saplings with regard to growth and plant architecture, with the first being taxon dependent.