Wilderness woodland areas

Ancient woodlands are obvious reference landscapes when dealing with nature conservation as a fundamental base in order to understand long-term dynamics and the importance of unbroken continuity over time and in space. However, when dealing with an urban context and woodland design, such references can also help a great deal but partly for other reasons. There might be similarities with more virgin woodland systems, and it could be a long-term goal for plantations as well. Certainly for educational purposes, such goals can be of great importance. Wilderness areas might also be among the most appreciated because of the mythologies, the ethics and the aesthetics which are tied to them, and they can serve management, create interest and deepen the experience for the visitors. An internationally well-known example in which such natural woodlands have been used as explicit references for recreational forests is Amsterdam Bos, the forest park in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.