14. The last heath lands left in South-Limburg
Names
of places ending in –heide, such as Heerlerheide or Spekholzerheide
indicate that in former days there were a lot of heath lands (=heide) in
South-Limburg. Several thousands of years ago deforestation and sheep herding
caused the development of heath lands. The sheep were needed for their manure
fertilising the fields – and of course for mutton and wool. The heath
was important for bee keepers. When late in the 19th century synthetic fertilisers
became popular – and wool was imported from Australia – most
heath lands were planted with trees, or reclaimed for agriculture. Only a
few were kept as ‘nature’.
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