This is what will happen on the Boschplaat
Er vinden meerdere maatregelen plaats om de natuur van de Boschplaat te versterken en te behouden voor de toekomst. Wind, zand en water krijgen meer invloed op de Boschplaat.
Situation before
From bare sandbank to unique nature reserve
The Boschplaat was created by the wind, sand and sea. In the seventeenth century, it was still a bare sandbank. It eventually grew attached to Terschelling. Over the centuries, drifting sand caused the growth of the various “dunes”.
With the construction of the Stuifdijk, the play of wind, water and sand largely came to a standstill. The sand supply from the beach was blocked. Sludge was still able to reach the area. As a result, the salt marshes were able to develop undisturbed and the number of plants and birds increased spectacularly.
That changed in the 1980s, and grasses and reeds increasingly got the upper hand due to the lack of dynamism in the area. This was at the expense of vulnerable salt marsh species such as catthorn, sea lavender, sea aster and parnassia. The number of plant and animal species continued to decline and the landscape became more monotonous.
Current situation
One of the largest and most dynamic nature reserves in our country
Because the Boschplaat is no longer supplied with sand from the North Sea, the area is almost no longer elevated. This makes it vulnerable to sea level rise and other consequences of climate change. If we do nothing, the salt marshes will be flooded more and more often. Plant species will disappear, nests of breeding birds will wash away more often.
The wide primeval landscape is not only beautiful to see, but also very important for birds. Every year, thousands of birds breed here. Hundreds of thousands more migratory birds come to the Boschplaat to recover after their long journeys.
“The Boschplaat needs dynamism again. Change. Movement.”
Future situation
We're bringing back the dynamic
In the coming years, we will be working on the Boschplaat. With a series of measures, we are bringing back the dynamism and offering biodiversity a helping hand. This is the only way we can preserve the area and restore biodiversity.
We ensure that sand from the beach can reach the salt marshes again. We do this by making a number of passages in the Stuifdijk. As a result, beach sand can float over the Boschplaat. And when it storms, the sea can flow over the Boschplaat and deposit sand and silt. This is how the natural uplift process starts again.
We only have to do these interventions once. Then nature must take over our work and gradually create a varied landscape with beach plains, blossoming salt marshes and dunes.
In places on the Boschplaat where there are less natural dynamics, we let islander cattle graze the rugged salt marshes. The animals eat the grasses that are now so abundant. This is how they make space for flowering plants.
Finally, we take action at the eastern tip of the area, near the Amelandergat. This “tail of the island” has become shorter and shorter in recent decades. We are investigating whether we can stop this development by spraying sand off the coast.
We leave the various dunes untouched. Grasses and reeds can continue to grow here. These are the places where spoonbills breed, for example.
What if we do nothing?
Flooding and widening of the Boschplaat
The Boschplaat in its current form was created by man. When the dynamics in the area came to a standstill, the elevation of the area also stopped. However, sea level rise is faster than rising. The Bosch plate could therefore 'drown' and inundate breeding grounds.
Due to the lack of dynamism, the plant world on the Boschplaat can develop undisturbed. Herbs like sea aster, sea lavender and cat's door are slowly disappearing. This is replaced by grasses and reeds. The vegetation would become increasingly tall and rugged, making it increasingly difficult for salt marsh birds such as redshank, skylark and curlew.
Other breeding birds, such as oystercatchers, clots and terns, would also have a hard time. These birds breed at the edge of the salt marshes, on the low parts. As the sea level rises, these breeding grounds would flood more and more frequently in the future. Nests would wash away, the number of birds would continue to decline.
The timeline
What have we already done?
