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Landscape

Beaches

Zeeland is famous for its long and wide beaches. During summertime many tourists from both inside and outside the country visit the coast for this very reason. Plants and animals like the beach just as much as people do. The current refreshes the sand on the coast every day. During ebb tide, dry sand is blown further inland. Pioneer plants, such as sea rocket and marram, the first type of vegetation on former uncovered land, bind the sand in place. During a heavy storm or spring tide, the sea occasionally washes away everything they that has built up over the recent years. Besides new sand, the tidal movements bring in a great variety of food. Many different kinds of shells, seaweed, jellyfish and starfish are washed ashore during flood tide. Black-backed gulls, herring gulls, and also fast sandpipers take advantage of this. On and around the groynes, which stand on the beach to break up the waves, exists sea weed, crustaceans and mussels. In the surroundings of Breskens and Borssele (the ‘kaloot’) one might be able to find fossil shells and shark teeth. The shells are primarily from the Pliocene era and are regularly dislodged from the bottom of the Westerschelde.

Dunes

More can be read about this subject on the page: the dune scenery. The sand which is washed ashore by the sea is blown away by the wind and then held in place by plants. The banked up sand masses naturally protect the land situated behind the dunes against the power of the sea. Nowadays sand is artificially pumped onto the beach by means of sand suppletion. Humans need to help the beach to counteract, for instance, the rising sea level. On the West Frisian Island Texel, for example, two to three million cubic metres of sand is pumped onto the beach every year. Some places require this extra sand more so than others. Without the extra sand, parts of the coast would lose much terrain to the North Sea. Every year, the coast can be washed away by a few metres. The largest dunes are four kilometres wide and the highest are 46 metres in height. On the limy sand, special plants such as dog’s tongue and ox tongue occur. The sheltered dune valleys form a beautiful environment for plants such as parnassians, bitter ling, centauries, and orchids. Bushes offer large areas of safety for birds, such as nightingales, lesser whitethroats, sand thrushes and golden orioles.

Dikes

Dikes can be found everywhere in Zeeland, both along the water and further inland. They used to mark the barriers between land and water, but today dikes and polders are kept seperate. So-called ‘tree dikes’ are typical for the scenery of South-Beveland, Tholen and Zeeland Flanders. South-Beveland also has many ‘flower dikes’. These dikes are covered with for instance wild marjoram and field eryngo. These plants grow well on limy ground in dunes or other slopes. Sheep are used to naturally manage the verges.

Salt marshes

Except for within Zeeland, salt marshes can hardly be found anywhere else in the Netherlands. They are mostly found along the shores of the Oosterschelde and the Westerschelde. The most famous and largest salt marsh area is the ‘flooded land of Saeftinghe’ (Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe). Salt marshes are swampy areas outside the dikes, which flood regularly during ebb tide. The parts that are situated higher are rarely flooded. The salt marshes consist of mud and sand and are continually reshaped by the tidal movements. The mud that is situated higher, adjoins the dikes and can be covered with sea aster, lamb’s ear and glasswort. The mud is highly nutritious and attracts many kinds of birds, which look for food on the uncovered parts during ebb tide. Coastal birds like sterns and plovers breed on the salt marshes. The sand bars are situated lower and are flooded during high tide.

The salt marshes were mostly behind compartment dams, which reduced the surface area of the Oosterschelde. However, the tidal movements were eliminated by the blockage. As a result, the salt marshes were no longer flooded daily. The supply of food therefore ceased and many salt-loving plants died and the birds stayed away. Consequently, the salt marshes lost their function as a breeding place for coastal birds. The appearance also changed. The creeks were uncovered, because they no longer had to drain water off to the sea. The number of plants and animals living on the salt marshes may increase, but the new types are less unique.

Woods

Although Zeeland is not the most woody province of the Netherlands, woods do exist. The woods can primarily be found in Walcheren and Schouwen-Duiveland. In the copse of Schouwen-Duiveland, near the village Westenschouwen, one can find woody areas, in which both broad-leaved and coniferous trees grow. The woods in Walcheren can be found behind the coast between Oostkapelle and Vrouwenpolder and around the creeks of Veere and Westkapelle. On Zeeland Flanders there are woods near the ‘Braakman’. Trees have been planted recently for wood production while also making the scenery less monotonous.

Country estates

During the Golden Era (‘Gouden Eeuw’) in the 17th century, the cities of Middelburg, Veere, Vlissingen and Zierikzee were important places for the trade of the United Dutch East-India Company (‘Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie’)  with areas overseas. The wealthy trade men looked for places to settle in the neighbourhoods of these cities. They often built impressive buildings. Today, one can still find these pied-à-terres in Middelburg and Vlissingen, near Domburg and Oostkapelle and in the neighbourhood of Zierikzee. They are usually surrounded by parks and gardens, in which many different sorts of plants and animals survive. Two nature organisations are located in former country estates: The ‘Zeeuwse Landschap’ in the coach house of the country estate ‘Landlust’ (Heinkenszand) and Staatsbosbeheer in ‘Huize Toorenvliet’ (Middelburg).