Flemish nature organisation Natuurpunt Brussel and its French-speaking counterpart Natagora are setting to work to compile a large inventory of all wild plants to be found in the metropolis. An atlas detailing the capital’s flora is the goal. It will be made on the basis of counts conducted by volunteers and should reveal how flora in Brussels has changed over the past two decades.
Wild plants to be counted in Brussels as more and more exotic plants appear in the wild
Colin Clapson
Published:
Residents of the Brussels Capital Region who already have some basic knowledge of plants (or are willing to learn) can register to take part in the census. ‘We are calling on people to adopt a plot of land measuring 1 kilometre by 1. Within that area, you will be responsible for the plant list,’ explains Roosmarijn Steeman of Natuurpunt Brussel.
The project is called FloraBru. So far, 100 of the 188 plots have already been adopted. ‘We are happy that we have already been able to get so many people excited about this project. We really need the help of our many volunteers.’
20 years back and forward in time
Tracing and identifying all plants within an area of 1 square kilometre, that seems like quite a feat. ‘Of course we don't expect people to do that literally. We do ask them to look on Google Maps carefully to find the most interesting spots in their plot. It could be woodland, grassland, or somewhere near water,’ says Steeman.
‘People then plot a route of about 2 kilometres, along which they examine all the plants. They can track their route on the internet via the website waarnemingen.be . And then in 20 years' time, we can compare how plants along that same route are doing in 2046.’
It is the second time Natuurpunt Brussel has compiled a floristic atlas. ‘We already made an atlas in 2006 and we have noticed that there are a lot of new plants in Brussels,’ Steeman explains.
New, exotic plant species in the capital
‘A lot of exotic plants from ornamental gardens are turning up. Suddenly we then find these plants in the wild, near those ornamental gardens. We are curious to see what has changed since 2006.’
Natuurpunt not only wants to compare the plant situation with 20 years ago, but also with other cities. ‘We want to find out how Brussels is doing in terms of diversity when we look at other big cities.’
Volunteers will be given until 2027 to survey the flora in their plot.