“Pest Forests”, “Utility Forests” and “Cow Bends”

Small and scattered patches of forests contrast sharply within the context flat monotonous dark green pastures in Dutch polder landscapes. These patches, with various types trees, are like little islands, surrounded by ditches. They not remnants original old peat swamp but farmers created past for particular purposes. Their names offer clear indications: addition to general name ‘small forests’ (polderbosjes) they called ‘pest (pestbosjes or krengenbosjes, places where contaminated dead animals were dumped), ‘farmers’ utility coppice (boerengeriefhoutbosjes hakhoutbosjes, from which collected all useful wood), ‘cow bends milk (koebochten melkbosjes, cows milked manure could be collected). With modernization agriculture alternative sources energy, many these forest islands have been cleared sake expanding pastures. However, increasingly also viewed a different perspective. Nowadays valued as an important element country’s (agri)cultural heritage, role play terms polders’ biodiversity (flora well fauna), has rapidly declined recent decades. In this article overview will given origin ‘forest islands’ how functioned landscape century often ignored aspect farmers’ knowledge practices. Attention paid present efforts maintain islands.