湿地景观的人为塑造:荷兰三角洲案例研究OACHSSCD

[Objective]This article examines three wetland areas in the delta of the Netherlands—the Biesbosch,the Oostvaardersplassen in Flevoland,and the Volgermeerpolder—as case studies in the interaction between human activity and landscape formation.Comparing the three cases tests whether the concept of wilderness is applicable to these landscapes.[Methods]A comparative case-study method generates the argument from the evidence.Three wetlands in a single delta were selected by the degree of human intention behind their creation,while their shared geological and hydrological conditions are held constant,so that human intention is the variable under comparison.The Biesbosch,in the Rhine-Meuse and North Sea delta,originated in the floods of 1421−1424,and the resulting tidal basin has since been continuously reshaped by hydraulic and ecological restoration works carried out under both Natura 2000 conservation policy and the Room for the River programme.The Oostvaardersplassen arose when reclaimed land in Southern Flevoland remained too wet for its intended use and was colonised by nature.The Volgermeerpolder is a wetland engineered as a remedy for industrial contamination,in which peat development in rainwater-fed wetland units serves as a permanent sealing technique.[Results]Successive human interventions transformed each landscape so that what is designated as natural wetland is the product of centuries of human action.The Biesbosch illustrates this most clearly:from medieval floods to the Room for the River programme,culminating in the deliberate inundation of the Noordwaard polder and its incorporation into the National Park.The Oostvaardersplassen developed from unplanned wetland into one of the larger nature reserves in the Netherlands,with recognised international ecological value.The Volgermeerpolder is the most engineered case.A membrane system initiates peat formation;over decades,the accumulating peat seals the contaminated substrate and forms the basis of a restored landscape.[Conclusion]The three cases differ in the degree of human intention behind their creation:unintended but managed,unplanned but framed,and deliberately constructed.This comparison supports the conclusion that the concept of wilderness does not apply in the Dutch delta,since in none of the three cases did nature and human history operate independently.The comparative framework proposed here offers a path toward a typology of wetlands based on the degree of anthropogenic shaping;its wider applicability remains to be tested in further delta and coastal wetland cases.