Three stages in the history of land reclamation in the Netherlands

Abstract

The Netherlands has faced unique water management challenges. Much of the western part of this country is covered by compressible peat or clay soils. Historic land use practices resulted in loss, decay, and consolidation of these soils and subsequent land subsidence. This, along with the sea level rise, tides, and storms, resulted in a country where one-third of the land lies below mean sea level and without dunes, dikes, and pumps, 65% would be under water at high tide.Over many centuries the Dutch have fought against this loss of land. Three stages in the historical development of land drainage and reclamation activities are presented.The first stage was in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when many lakes north of Amsterdam were drained and reclaimed for agricultural use. Windmills were used to pump these lakes dry. Next, in the nineteenth century, Lake Haarlem became the largest lake drained in the Netherlands and the one of the first to be drained using steam-powered pumps alone. Finally, in the twentieth century the Zuiderzee tidal estuary was drained and reclaimed, resulting in an additional 1650 km 2 of new land for agriculture, recreation, and urban expansion.

Centuries of Human-Driven Change in Salt Marsh Ecosystems

“…In cooler northern Europe, salt was collected from salt marshes by peat harvest and burning (Bridbury 1955). For this purpose, marshes were drained with the aid of the iconic Dutch windmill (Hoeksema 2007). At the same site, livestock were grazed on marsh grass, and after slaughter, marsh salt was used to preserve meat that was loaded onto ships and sent to market.…”

Sea Reclamation Status of Countries around the South China Sea from 1975 to 2010

“…As the main method of utilizing the ocean, sea reclamation is prevailing in many countries, such as Holland, Japan, and Korea [6][7][8]. Countries around the South China Sea also have a long history of sea reclamation.…”

The Use of C-/X-Band Time-Gapped SAR Data and Geotechnical Models for the Study of Shanghai’s Ocean-Reclaimed Lands through the SBAS-DInSAR Technique

“…For instance, The Netherlands has been reclaiming land since the sixteenth century, and, nowadays, one-third of their territory lies at heights lower than the mean sea level [1]. The Changi Airport in Singapore, the Honk Hong International Airport in China, the Kansai Airport in Japan, and the New Doha International Airport in Qatar, are all examples of public infrastructure built on reclaimed, or partially reclaimed, lands [2][3][4][5][6][7].…”