Agro-Geographic Regions of Belgium

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining the geographical, geological, and agricultural characteristics of Belgium's various agro-geographic regions.

Openfield

A landscape characterized by open fields, very few hedges, and clear views.

Bocage

A rural landscape consisting of hedges, with the Pays de Herve being the most prominent example in Belgium.

Littoral Relief

A plain situated between $5$ and $100$ meters in altitude, featuring dunes and sandy beaches stretching $65\,km$.

Polders Fossils (Fossés)

Ditches used to maintain dry soil and drain water into canals and locks to prevent flooding, rather than for irrigation.

Polders Sub-soil

Composition of recent, soft rocks that are predominantly argileuses (clay-like).

Les Flandres Soil Fertility

Fertility achieved through human intervention, specifically the mixing of sand and clay using fertilizers.

La Campine Landscape

A low plateau with an openfield landscape, featuring heaths (landes de bruyères), pine woods (bois de pins), and marshes.

La région limoneuse

A very fertile region with a silt (Limon) sub-soil, characterized by an openfield landscape and traditional square farms (fermes carrées).

Le Condroz Relief

A middle-plateau (moyen-plateau) often carved by watercourses such as the Meuse, Ourthe, Lesse, and Hoyou.

Le pays de Herve Agriculture

Utilizes fertile soil with impermeable clay layers for dairy farming (élevage laitier) and orchards (vergers).

La Fagne-Famenne Relief

A depression characterized by a hollow (creux) between $100$ and $200$ meters in altitude.

L’Ardenne Soil

Considered non-fertile due to an excess of stones (cailloux).

L’Ardenne Vegetation

Dominant forests consisting of spruce (épicéas) and fir (sapins) alongside prairies.

La Lorraine belge Relief

An asymmetrical high plateau with alternating resistant and soft geological layers gently sloping towards the south.

La Lorraine belge Houses

Traditional dwellings with walls coated in plaster (crépi), stone bases (soubassements), and red tile roofs.