Södra Greda löväng, Naturreservat

Södra Greda deciduous meadow is one of the few deciduous meadows left on Öland. The meadow is mown every year, to the delight of many of the meadow's flowers and insects. The annual mowing also means that a centuries-old tradition is preserved, even if the scythes have been replaced by mowing beams!

What's new in the reserve in 2025

The County Administrative Board's budget for nature conservation and outdoor life sometimes changes and right now we have less money to allocate. The priority is then to manage our natural values in the first place and outdoor recreation facilities in the second place. As a result, this year we are closing a number of toilets in reserves and removing rubbish bins in several protected areas in the county.

In Södra Greda löväng, the toilet will be closed and all waste management will cease.

The valuable meadow

The deciduous meadow was a very important piece of land in the old farming community. It was from the meadow that the farmer got winter feed for his cattle in the form of hay. As agriculture modernized, other types of land became more important and one meadow after another disappeared. Today, only scraps remain.

Traces of defoliation

Several ash trees in the deciduous meadow look a bit special. They have branches that start from the same place on the trunk. These trees were once pollarded. When they were pollarded, farmers cut the branches of the trees and then dried the foliage to give to their cattle in winter.

A flowering reserve

You can see many different plants in the Södra Greda meadow before the meadow is mown. This is because the area, despite being small, contains several different types of habitats - sun-open dry meadow, calcareous wet meadow and wooded meadow. Another reason for the richness of the vegetation is that the meadow is mown and grazed every year. Without this management, the land would become overgrown and the meadow plants would disappear.