Stelkampsveld Nature Reserve: A Protected Kampenlandschap Mosaic in Eastern Gelderland, Netherlands

Stelkampsveld is best known for being an active restoration of a historic kampenlandschap, a mosaic of heath, vennen, hedgerows, and small fields typical of the eastern Netherlands centuries ago. After decades of agricultural use and conifer planting, conservation work has focused on removing drained woodland and rewetting the soil to bring back the landscape of around 1850. The site is also notable for its rare bog and orchid flora. It is one of the few Dutch locations where the large fly orchid (Grote muggenorchis) grows, and it hosts the extremely rare moss Pseudocalliergon lycopodioides, a species usually associated with rich calcareous fens. Together, these features make Stelkampsveld a small but ecologically distinctive site within the Gelderland Natura 2000 network.

Stelkampsveld's story stretches back over centuries as part of a traditional kampenlandschap, the small-field landscape pattern associated with the Achterhoek region of eastern Gelderland, where scattered enclosed fields known as kampen were surrounded by hedgerows, woodlots, and patches of heathland dotted with vennen. For a long period the area was incorporated into the Beekvliet estate, giving it a coherent private management history that helped preserve its mosaic of essen, meadows, houtwallen, wooded fragments, and heath.

Modern protection began in the 1990s, when the area was designated as a habitat directive area under what would eventually become the European Natura 2000 network. On 7 May 2013 its status was formally recorded as a Natura 2000 site under the European site code NL2003044, with the Dutch area number 60.

A decisive change came around the turn of the millennium, when remaining farmland was removed from agricultural use and rejoined the nature area under the ownership of Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten, the two principal Dutch nature management organizations. Roughly twenty years later, managers cut around eighteen hectares of drained conifer plantation known locally as rabattenbos, removed the upper soil, and rewetted the ground, deliberately aiming to recreate the landscape character that existed around 1850.

The landscape of Stelkampsveld is a small but carefully composed mosaic typical of the historical Achterhoek countryside. Small enclosed fields, traditionally called kampen, are scattered through the area, framed by hedgerows, houtwallen, and small woodlots that give the terrain a finely textured, semi-open character. Among these fields lie patches of heath, while the lower-lying zones hold vennen, the shallow pools that once dotted the sandy soils of eastern Gelderland.

Traditional arable plots, or essen, and hay meadows form part of the mosaic, although most former farmland has now been returned to more naturalistic vegetation. A conspicuous feature of the modern landscape is the area where drained conifer woodland has been cleared. Here the topography is being reshaped as soil is removed and the ground is rewetted, opening up views across the recovering fen and heath.

The overall effect is a low-relief, intimate landscape where woodland, wet ground, grassland, and heathland interlock at a small scale. The mosaic pattern is both a cultural inheritance and a functional habitat system, offering varied microclimates, soil conditions, and moisture levels across a compact territory.

Ecologically, Stelkampsveld centers on the recovery of a wet heathland and fen complex embedded within a small-scale woodland and grassland mosaic. The wet, base-rich conditions now being restored in the cleared plantation areas echo the historical character of the landscape, creating suitable conditions for specialized bog, marsh, and calcareous fen species.

The varied structure of the site, with its mix of heath, vennen, hedgerows, meadows, and relict woodland, supports a range of transitional habitats. This structural diversity is a defining feature of the area's ecological value, distinguishing it from the more uniform pine forests and agricultural plains that surround it in the Achterhoek.

Beyond its hydrology and vegetation structure, the area contributes to the broader network of Dutch small-fen and heath habitats. The rewetting efforts, removal of compacted soils, and breakdown of plantation cover together aim to recreate a functioning landscape ecosystem rather than simply protect a static patch of nature.

Stelkampsveld is primarily a botanically driven Natura 2000 site, and its wildlife profile is closely tied to the rare plant communities that define its conservation importance. The small-scale mosaic of heath, vennen, and surrounding woodland provides habitat for invertebrate groups associated with wet heath and calcareous fen, as well as the broader community of woodland and hedgerow species typical of the Achterhoek.

The richness of the site's plant life, particularly its mosses and orchids, reflects the specialized conditions required by many of the associated invertebrate species. The varied moisture and vegetation structure across the area also supports typical small-fen fauna, including amphibians tied to the vennen and pools, alongside common woodland and heathland birdlife of the wider Gelderland countryside.

Rather than acting as a flagship site for a single charismatic species, Stelkampsveld functions as a fine-grained ecological refuge within the regional landscape, where the interplay of plants, invertebrates, amphibians, and birds is shaped by the restored mosaic of wet and dry habitat patches.

Stelkampsveld's conservation significance lies in its role as a small but carefully targeted restoration site within the Dutch Natura 2000 network. Formally designated under the European Habitats Directive in the 1990s and recorded as a Natura 2000 site in 2013, it carries the European site code NL2003044 and the national site number 60.

The protected area is owned almost entirely by the two leading Dutch conservation organizations, Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten, ensuring long-term nature-oriented land use. Restoration has gone beyond passive protection: around eighteen hectares of drained conifer plantation, locally known as rabattenbos, were removed, the compacted soil was excavated, and the ground was rewetted to revive the historic fen and heath mosaic.

Management responsibility is split between the province of Gelderland, which oversees the Natura 2000 management plan, and Waterschap Rijn en IJssel, which contributes to practical hydrological and environmental measures. Together, these efforts aim to secure a durable, ecologically functional version of the historical kampenlandschap, with the site's rare flora, including the large fly orchid and Pseudocalliergon lycopodioides, serving as key indicators of restoration success.

Stelkampsveld sits within a region of long-established small-scale farming and estate culture. For centuries the area was a textbook example of the kampenlandschap, the cultural landscape pattern in which tiny enclosed fields, hedgerows, woodland patches, heathland, and vennen were interwoven under traditional management. Its inclusion in the Beekvliet estate helped preserve that pattern.

The contemporary conservation project is as much a cultural decision as an ecological one. By deliberately aiming to restore the landscape of around 1850, managers are not only protecting species but also reviving a recognized regional landscape identity tied to the Achterhoek. The combination of public ownership by heritage-oriented organizations such as Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten gives the site both ecological and landscape-cultural significance within Gelderland.

Among Stelkampsveld's most distinctive features is its status as an active restoration of a centuries-old kampenlandschap, with cleared plantation woodland and rewetted soils recreating the mosaic of heathland, vennen, and small enclosed fields that characterized the area around 1850.

The site is also notable for its botanical rarities, supporting the large fly orchid and the extremely uncommon moss Pseudocalliergon lycopodioides, alongside bog-indicator species such as parnassia. Public ownership by Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten, combined with formal protection as a Natura 2000 site under the European Habitats Directive, gives small-scale but durable conservation weight to this 102-hectare Achterhoek landscape.

As a nature restoration project rather than a tourist attraction, Stelkampsveld does not have a structured visitor season, but its character shifts with the seasons. Late spring and early summer typically bring the most visible botanical interest, when heathland plants, wetland flowers, and orchids such as the large fly orchid may be detectable within the recovering mosaic.

Autumn offers a different atmosphere, with the patchwork of woodland fragments, hedgerows, and open heathland taking on rich seasonal color and providing favorable conditions for observing the broader landscape restoration. Winters tend to emphasize the open, rewetted fen areas and the visibility of the historic field pattern across the cleared terrain, while damp or cool days generally suit the wet habitats that define much of the site's ecological value.