Staktjärn naturreservat

Old trees benefit endangered species

This is an exciting area with a relatively large number of coarse and flat-crowned pine overhangs scattered in a forest environment that has a large age spread and elements of old coarse spruce. Several old pines are between two and three hundred years old! Many trees are large, with typical rough bark, flat crowns and a length of up to 25 meters. In Swedish nature today, these trees are rare, as more and more primeval forests are being felled. Because of this, many species that require old, rough trees to survive are threatened. For example, the red-listed three-toed woodpecker, which has been seen nesting in the reserve.

Here the forest has burned

Towards the adjacent tarn, the pine forest turns into a swamp pine forest with a predominance of scrub in the field layer. The area bears traces of previous forestry operations, but in comparison with the surrounding forests this has been on a more modest scale. Traces of several fires are visible, some stumps bear traces of at least five fires! Some of the old-growth pine trees have several fire noises. The lack of natural fire dynamics in Swedish nature is also something that has affected many species negatively.

Interesting carving in pine

Within the reserve there is an interesting carving in an older pine tree on the south-eastern shore of the lake. Most of the text has been cut away but the year 1788 has been left. Given the close location of several mountain farms, this is probably a so-called mountain farm carving, i.e. a carving linked to the herding in older times. They were usually inscribed with the name of one or more herds and the year, sometimes with additional text. This carving is the first known of its kind in Hedemora municipality.