Gräsberget, Naturreservat

In Gräsberget you can hike in large forests with old trees, vast marshes and meandering streams. This old-growth forest is an important habitat for many species that are being displaced by modern forestry. In the 2000s, the forests have been affected by several severe storms. In some parts of the reserve it is therefore difficult to find your way among all the fallen tree trunks.There are no marked trails in Gräsberget, so you will have to wander around on your own.

Gräsberget is protected for the sake of the old natural forest. Much of the forest is around 150 years old, but individual spruces and pines are over 200 years old.

Species-rich forest

The area is located 11 kilometers southwest of Ramsjö and covers 295 hectares. The forest in Gräsberget is old with trees of all ages and sizes. The most common tree species is spruce, but there are also many pine, aspen, willow and birch trees.

The ground layer is dominated by bilberry, except in the more herb-rich parts of the reserve, where you can instead find plants such as eye pyrola, torta, ferns and the small forest orchids knotweed and spiderwort.

Water-rich environments

Water trickles down the mountain slopes in several places. This, together with the area's streams and marshlands, contributes to the high humidity in Gräsberget's old-growth forests. The moisture and the old age of the trees make the forests rich in various bearded and thorn lichens.

Lung lichen grows on old, rough deciduous trees. When it rains, it shines with its pea-green color. In dry weather, the lichen is more inconspicuous gray-brown.

Valuable to many

Svartån, a watercourse affected by beaver dams, flows through the north-eastern part of the area. In Svartån and also Stor-Svarttjärnen there is a natural population of trout.

Gräsberget is also home to birds that depend on old forest areas with lots of dead wood. Here, for example, you can meet the lichen jay, wolverine and three-toed woodpecker.

Lichen jay is the real character bird of the lichen-bearded large forests. Here in Gräsberget, this fearless but now increasingly rare crow has an important refuge. It stays in the same area all year round and feeds its nest with nettles and lichens.