Spontaneous ingrowth of tree species in poplar plantations in Flanders

Today a tendency exists to transform a number of traditionally managed popl ar plantations, which are considered to have a poor nature conservation val ue, towards closer to nature stands. Herewith the question arises to what e xtent such conversion can occur naturally by spontaneous ingrowth of native tree species. Therefore this study formulates the following objectives: To what extent does spontaneous ingrowth occur in poplar plantations? Which p arameters determine this process? Can this ingrowth be used as a base for a n indirect conversion of poplar plantations? To answer these questions, surveys were carried out in 175 poplar plantatio ns. It is found that spontaneous ingrowth of many tree species in poplar pl antations is often so important that it can be used as a base for stand con version. This ingrowth is related to the parameter "forest age", meaning th e number of years that the site has been planted with poplars. The ingrowth can often be used for the development of mixed, well structured and multif unctional forest stands, with higher ecological, recreational and landscape value.