Lush deciduous oak and lime forests cover large parts of this reserve. It has not always been like this. People have farmed these lands since the Iron Age, grazing animals and collecting hay from meadows. It wasn't until the 1970s that the forest was given free rein and the open fields were hidden in greenery. But there are still traces of the past!
On Öland there are remains from the Iron Age on a scale that is unique, even from an international perspective. Here in Hagelstad, you can see several house foundations, stone walls and cairns from the Iron Age. The remains are most clearly visible in the north-eastern part of the nature reserve.
Maps from 1778 show that the reserve's land at this time was hay meadows belonging to Hagelstad village. Mowing had probably been going on for several hundred years before that too. Generations of farmers have gathered hay from the meadows to feed their cattle in winter. Meadow haymaking continued until the 1920s, when grazing animals replaced the bond. When grazing ceased in the 1970s, the farming era came to an end, giving trees and shrubs free rein to grow into the lush forest that characterizes the area today, but in the eastern part of the nature reserve there is now a small meadow that is managed with mowing every year. The oldest trees in the reserve have also been given more space by removing younger competing trees.
The reserve's forest is home to a range of unusual lichens, mosses and fungi. Many of these are linked to the area's old oaks and lime trees, which stand here and there. These light-loving trees grew up when the area was still farmed. Feel free to stop by one of the old trees. Perhaps there is a tick on the trunk? If you look closely at the nooks and crannies of the rough bark, you'll see various lichens, some of them quite decorative!
Decision year: 2009
Area: 14.8 hectares
Municipality: Borgholm
Landowners: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and individuals
Manager: Kalmar County Administrative Board
The reserve is located 2 km west/southwest of Källa church and about 6.5 km south/southwest of Löttorp.
In the nature reserve you are not allowed:
C. Regulations according to Chapter 7, Section 30 of the Environmental Code on the right to travel and stay in the reserve and on order in general.
It is forbidden to enter the reserve:
The regulations under C do not apply to owners or holders of special rights to real estate or holders of other rights.
Per Markus Jönsson
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