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This paper seeks to outline early stages in the recovery of forest ground flora on eroded slopes impacted by recreation activities and to suggest how these data might be applied in the formulation of management policies for forest recreation areas. Based on a fencing experiment in the Sonian Forest near Brussels, we investigated whether, over a 6-year period, the vegetation was able to recover after having been destroyed by recreation use. Short-term trends in overall species composition were already observable during this 6-year study. Species recovery on eroded hills was related to slope, aspect, and soil type. During the considered time scale, the proportion of hemicryptophytes and the number of ancient forest species increased significantly. A downward trend was detected for Ellenberg's nitrogen and temperature indexes and for the proportion of therophytes and pioneer plants of disturbed places. Changes in species' frequencies suggest six recovery strategies: early, late, expanding, disappearing, transient, and fluctuating species. Aside from seedling reproduction from overstory influences, Luzula sylvatica appeared to be the most resilient of the species identified in the study since this species has the highest global frequency in our sampling plots and has increased its cover during the study period. Study results indicate that (1) protection from recreation has initiated the recovery of species in the herb layer, but (2) it may take a long time before vegetation previously present in the ground flora may recover in both density and species composition.

ABSTRACT1. The main aim of this restoration attempt within a nature reserve was to recreate sustainable conditions for wetland species, particularly aquatic plants.2. In the process of restoration, two phases of activity were distinguished: a pre-restoration phase, during which information on land-use history and past vegetation was collected and used to establish clear restoration goals; and a restoration phase for stimulating germination and establishment of target species originating from the soil seed bank and species pool.3. Within the first year of the study, pond digging allowed the establishment of extremely rare native species that react positively to mudflat creation and standing water availability. The results of this experiment indicate that pond digging can be a very suitable technique for re-establishing aquatic and wetland vegetation, providing that the site is well chosen.4. An essential prerequisite for successful restoration is a study of the past vegetation of the target site and its surroundings. This work illustrates the importance of past vegetation in affecting current restoration success and provides an example of how restoration projects benefit from knowledge and understanding of both historical and present conditions.

Vegetation research based on plot sampling has been carried out in Flanders for more than one hundred years. The history of the Flemish vegetation database (VLAVEDAT; GIVD ID EU-BE-001), which consists of relevés from Flanders (northern part of Belgium), is drawn up. The emergence of VLAVEDAT is situated in a project (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002) of framing a typology of the Flemish nature based on vegetation. Currently, 40,660 relevés are computerized and stored in the VLAVEDAT central database (TURBOVEG) and its close satellite databases together. This paper reviews basic statistical figures on the VLAVEDAT central database. In particular, spatial and ecological distribution of the compiled relevés are illustrated and discussed. As it is the case in many vegetation databases, also VLAVEDAT appears to be biased towards sites and vegetation types of special interest. Within the categories of vegetation types with nature value, the proportion of relevés is well correlated with the area of the habitats they represent in Flanders. Most of the relevés were recorded in permanent grasslands, coastal dunes and marshes. Forests are underrepresented, since these are part of another database that has not yet been incorporated in VLAVEDAT. The spatial distribution of relevés is not uniform among ecoregions of Flanders. To exemplify, when related to their respective land area, the proportion of relevés is very high in the Dunes region, the Valley of the Meuse region and in the Polders regions; in contrast the proportion is lower in the three other ecoregions. VLAVEDAT is currently hosted and managed at the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), a scientific institute of the Flemish Government. Relevés in the VLAVEDAT central database are available upon request according to specific agreement, for the purpose of various projects, and non-commercial use by the scientific community in Flanders and abroad.