Stand consisting of a balanced mixture of oak and beech with the presence of beech regeneration.(oaks regenerated in 1880).
The stand is located close to Baileux, in the Western part of the Ardenne (50.017N, 4.4E), within a 60 ha forest consisting mainly of sessile oaks (Quercus petraea Liebl.) and European beeches (Fagus sylvativa L.). By the end of the 19th century, the Baileux forest was probably an oak coppice with a few standards. Taking advantage of the massive oak regeneration in the 1880s, the forest developed progressively into a high forest and was then invaded by beeches.
The selected stand is part of an experimental site composed of three plots installed in 2001 within areas of the forest contrasting in structure and species composition with the aim to study the impact of tree species mixing on ecosystem functioning. Aside the mixed plot, a second plot is located in a stand dominated by sessile oak and the third one encloses a beech-dominated stand.
This experimental site is part of the LTER (Long-Term Ecosystem Research) network.
