– It might look a bit peculiar, but we deliberately placed the wool in the Mastbos around the young trees. It was something a bit different for Lisa Raats and Julian Pijls (Forest Group South Netherlands... put away. But why?

To stimulate the development of a more varied and climate-resilient forest, young trees have been planted in various locations as part of the LIFE Climate Forest project. However, bracken is growing so exuberantly there that young trees, shrubs, and herbs stand little chance. Therefore, the bracken has been locally removed. And to prevent this plant from returning too dominantly, we are investigating whether laying sheep's wool around the young saplings helps. The wool comes from the sheep that regularly graze on the heathland around the fens in the Mastbos.

Possibly (hopefully) the natural ground cover inhibits the growth of the fern, giving young trees more space. Whether this actually works, will have to become apparent in the coming years.

Please read too this piece from Egbert Eilander, the forester from Staatsbosbeheer who was involved.