oa Gerief- en pestbosjes in het Groene Hart

In the rural area in the middle of the heaviest urbanized area in the Netherlands, called Groene Hart (‘Green Heart’), a large number of small patches of woodland occur. These groves have been utilized by farmers during centuries for their wood supply. Based on the occurrence of wooded patches of land on historic maps from the end of the 19th century and still present on the recent map, a number of 1211 groves have been inventoried. Crude estimates reveal that at least 50% of the groves present in 1877 will have disappeared in the cause of time. The decline is due to several causes, varying from urbanization to active removal by landowners. This trend will continue without better protection and supply of information.