View of the Bert Bospad, the only public access road into the peatlands.
Bert Bospad – Westbroekse Zodden
This site is a large nature reserve, called Westbroekse Zodden, located southwest of the town of Hilversum, in the central area of the Netherlands. It consists of peatland fen-meadows bordered by brook forest. Originally this area was one large fresh water marsh, but since medieval times peat has been mined here and this activity shaped the landscape.
My samples came from two locations:
T – A so called “trilveen”, a quaking or vibrating bog; this is a peat bog floating over water-saturated ground, so that is shakes or trembles when walked on. The wet part is covered with Sphagnum, the drier part with Polytrichum.
L – Peatland, with some very shallow water.
A bird’s view of the area, in the background the city of Hilversum (Photograph from an information sign)
The arrow indicates the Bert Bospad area
Location T and L
Location T: Quaking bog to the right
Quaking bog
Detail of the quaking bog
Sphagnum
Sun dew
Location T: Quaking bog in early spring
Location L, peatland
Detail of the above location L, very shallow water with a thick layer of detritus.
An interesting find from this location: Micrasterias crux-melitensis var. janeira (ID: Koos Meesters)