Treklasen, Naturreservat

Treklasen is a small nature reserve with old pine forest. The reserve has plenty of moss, which gives the forest a magical forest character.

The reserve is located on a slight ridge, about 30 - 40 meters above sea level. In the small, elongated reserve there are stands of pine trees in a younger mixed forest with mainly spruce and beech. The area is surrounded by spruce plantations. The forest in Treklasen was last felled in the late 1800s. The forest was voluntarily protected by the owner in 1922, and in 1961 the area was formally protected as a natural monument.

Problems for pine trees to rejuvenate

The reason for the protection was partly to study the competition between beech and conifers. Forty years later, it was found that pine trees have great difficulty in regenerating.

This is mainly due to three reasons. Firstly, spruce easily spreads into the reserve from surrounding spruce plantations. Secondly, the regeneration of pine is made difficult by the large number of wild animals. In addition, there is now no natural disturbance such as fire, which previously favored the fire-resistant pine.

In addition to spruce, beech also regenerates well. In connection with a boundary adjustment in 2004, it was therefore decided to change the purpose of the reserve and protect the valuable natural environment of the pine stand by limiting the presence of spruce.

The moss forms closed mats

In the forest, boulders are scattered here and there and there are rock outcrops. Much of the ground is covered with moss, which in some places forms closed mats. Lingonberry and bilberry dominate the ground vegetation, together with creeping thistle. There is plenty of coarse dead wood, mainly pine, in the area. The dead wood is in various stages of decomposition, which is appreciated by wood insects and fungi.