Älmebjär, Naturreservat

Älmebjär consists of a hill with slopes down towards Björkasjö. The beech forest dominates and many of the trees are very old. Unusual species that require a specific habitat thrive in this environment. The reserve is part of Åkulla beech forests.

In the northern part of the reserve, on a headland in Björkasjö, there is a shelter built by Åkulla bokskogar intresseförening. There is also a fireplace with wood and a toilet. The reserve is only accessible by hiking on Björkasjöstigen.

Trails and paths in the area

There are plenty of hiking trails of varying lengths in the Åkulla beech forest tourist area. Björkasjöstigen, one of the trails, passes Älmebjär and continues around Björkasjö to Björkekullen nature reserve. Along the trail you get beautiful views of the lake. The path is marked with oak posts with a red plaque depicting beech leaves and the text Åkulla bokskogar.

Valuable beech forest

The forest at Älmebjär has been untouched for a long time. The slopes are dominated by stately beech trees and the ground is covered with last year's leaves. In contrast to the sparse vegetation on the ground, there is more growth on the trees. Large ticks protrude from the trunks and the bark is covered with various lichens and mosses.

Exciting landscape

The Åkulla beech forest area is a hilly rift valley landscape with several mighty mountain ridges and many lakes. The bedrock consists mainly of gneiss. At Älmebjär there is also garnet, which has been quarried in the southern part of the reserve. Traces of the quarry can still be seen today in the form of pits lined with blasted stone.

Unusual lichen has been found

Most of the lichens growing on the tree trunks are so-called crustose lichens. They grow flat against the ground and are best seen with a magnifying glass. About ten species found in the area are threatened, most of which are lichens. A rarity in the area is the red pyssling lichen, which is only found in about twenty places in the county. Examples of other demanding species are pink lichen, beech lichen and small noble lichen.