Limmingsbäcken, Naturreservat

The nature reserve covers the whole of Limmingsbäcken and its valley. Trout, pearl mussels and crayfish thrive in the watercourse. The surrounding limestone coniferous forest is rich in species, with many different types of plants, fungi and lichens.

Among mussels and crayfish

Both Limmingsbäcken and Limmingssjön are named after the limestone-rich bedrock, as lime in ancient times was called glue. Due to the natural lime content, the water has never been acidified. This is why both the pearl mussel and the crayfish thrive here in the stream. The pearl mussel is known for its ability to form pearls as 'scrapers' around grains of sand or parasites on the inside of its shell. It was heavily fished in the past in search of pearls but is now protected. The river pearl mussel is also dependent on trout for its survival, as its larvae use the gills of the fish as a nursery. The river pearl mussel grows slowly and can be over 200 years old.

Plague threatened crayfish

The crayfish is a freshwater crayfish distinguished from the introduced signal crayfish by its dark, knobbly shell and signal red wart at the claw's thumb grip. The signal crayfish has a white wart at the thumb grip. Like the pearl mussel, the crayfish is an endangered species that was once common in many of the country's lakes and rivers. The crayfish has declined sharply over the last hundred years, mainly due to the infectious disease crayfish plague. The implanted signal crayfish carries the disease without becoming ill itself. To reduce the spread of the disease, it is important that boats and fishing gear are not moved between waters without first being disinfected.

Species-rich limestone coniferous forest

Limmingsbäcken is surrounded by forest and pastures. A large part of the forest consists of spruces and the occasional pine. Some birch and alder also grow in the marsh in the northern part of the reserve. There are smaller spruce swamp forests adjacent to the watercourses. No forestry machines have ever affected the forest around Limmingsbäcken, but there are traces of old-time cutting of both wood and timber. The limestone-rich bedrock affects the area's vegetation. There are more different species in a limestone coniferous forest than in a normal coniferous forest. Among the species that grow here are bladderwort, black thorn fungus and spruce thorn fungus. In the middle part of Limmingsbäcken, there are the remains of an old power station and associated dam.

Accessibility

Limmingsbäcken belongs to level 1 in the county administrative board's leveling of the county's nature reserves, which means that the reserve has a wilderness character and lacks outdoor facilities.