De terrestrische korstmosvegetatie van het Kootwijkerzand

At the initiative of the Dutch State Forest Commission a survey was made of lichen vegetation at Kootwijkerzand, an inland sand dune area at The Veluwe, a huge pleistocene deposit in the eastern central part of The Netherlands. Most of the very poor soil has been planted with pine trees ( Pinus sylvestris), but part is heath and part is still active aeolian sand. This part consists of bare drift-sand tracts with sparse grassland on the more stabilized parts, classified as Grey hairgrass community (Corynephorus canecens) with mosses and lichens. Since the nineteen seventies increasing air pollution caused by nearby intensive cattle and poultry farming (0-85 kg N/ha/year) has affected both the woods, the heath area and the lichen-steppe. By means of vegetation-relevés (4 m²) eight types (with subtypes) of moss and lichen vegetation could be described (summation table). Eight permanent plots were laid out and a basic set of soil samples was analysed by a professional laboratory. A programme both for vegetation and soil was proposed, to monitor the expected diminishing annimal husbandry air pollution from the nearby “Gelderse Vallei” in the future.