Chapter 5: The landscape of The Netherlands
§2 The ice melts, the sea level rises
Holocene: became warmer → the ice melted → sea level rose.
Tundra shifted to the north → replaced by coniferous and deciduous forests (10000 years ago).
Boreal peat: the type of soil produced by this process → areas in the Low Netherlands where
water stood still, so water plants grew and swamps formed, very moist conditions so dead plants
did not decay.
Sandbanks: sea level rose slowly → long line of sandbanks formed along the coast. Wind blew
sand away → became trapped behind plants → dunes developed → old dunes (5000 years ago).
Mudflats: where ater stayed and rested after it flew inland through tidal inlets in sandbanks.
Hollandveen: layer of peat.
§3 People in the sandy-soil areas
Sandy-soil areas up to 1900:
● 40% of The Netherlands is covered in cover sand.
● Older areas in The Netherlands are higher.
● Open field → where manure mixed with forest litter was spread. Centuries of fertilization
raised the level of the field by 1/1,5 metres.
● Crop farming depended on manure.
● Low ground used as grassland → too wet.
Sandy-soil areas after 1900:
● Development of artificial fertilizers ended traditional farming.
● Economies of scale were introduced: farmers found it difficult to compete with other
countries → specializing in intensive livestock farming → required greater intensification
and mechanization.
Switching from mixed farming to specialized livestock farming had consequences on landscape.
Factory farming produces a lot of manure → the buffer capacity sandy soil is low → manure
surplus → too much phosphate and nitrates flow into the ground → eutrophication (addition of
nutrients by nature/man to the soil) → fast growing plant species push out all others. Solution:
● Manure surplus reduced → reducing number of farm animals.
● Regulations for spreading manure are improved.
● Manure directly in soil → no ammonia in the air.
Aim radical development → concentrate growth of intensive livestock farming → more space
available for nature.
§4 Landscapes of the Low Netherlands
3000 years ago, the north was a coastal plain where sea deposited marine deposits (clay and
sand).
Tidal marsh → flooded areas that had become higher and became covered with vegetation →
since 500 BC people built terps to protect themselves from floods.
Sea dykes:
● First built in 1000.
● Area outside the dykes higher than the polders → sedimentation → dyke moved to
reclaim the tidal marshes.
§2 The ice melts, the sea level rises
Holocene: became warmer → the ice melted → sea level rose.
Tundra shifted to the north → replaced by coniferous and deciduous forests (10000 years ago).
Boreal peat: the type of soil produced by this process → areas in the Low Netherlands where
water stood still, so water plants grew and swamps formed, very moist conditions so dead plants
did not decay.
Sandbanks: sea level rose slowly → long line of sandbanks formed along the coast. Wind blew
sand away → became trapped behind plants → dunes developed → old dunes (5000 years ago).
Mudflats: where ater stayed and rested after it flew inland through tidal inlets in sandbanks.
Hollandveen: layer of peat.
§3 People in the sandy-soil areas
Sandy-soil areas up to 1900:
● 40% of The Netherlands is covered in cover sand.
● Older areas in The Netherlands are higher.
● Open field → where manure mixed with forest litter was spread. Centuries of fertilization
raised the level of the field by 1/1,5 metres.
● Crop farming depended on manure.
● Low ground used as grassland → too wet.
Sandy-soil areas after 1900:
● Development of artificial fertilizers ended traditional farming.
● Economies of scale were introduced: farmers found it difficult to compete with other
countries → specializing in intensive livestock farming → required greater intensification
and mechanization.
Switching from mixed farming to specialized livestock farming had consequences on landscape.
Factory farming produces a lot of manure → the buffer capacity sandy soil is low → manure
surplus → too much phosphate and nitrates flow into the ground → eutrophication (addition of
nutrients by nature/man to the soil) → fast growing plant species push out all others. Solution:
● Manure surplus reduced → reducing number of farm animals.
● Regulations for spreading manure are improved.
● Manure directly in soil → no ammonia in the air.
Aim radical development → concentrate growth of intensive livestock farming → more space
available for nature.
§4 Landscapes of the Low Netherlands
3000 years ago, the north was a coastal plain where sea deposited marine deposits (clay and
sand).
Tidal marsh → flooded areas that had become higher and became covered with vegetation →
since 500 BC people built terps to protect themselves from floods.
Sea dykes:
● First built in 1000.
● Area outside the dykes higher than the polders → sedimentation → dyke moved to
reclaim the tidal marshes.
