Lövfalla, Naturreservat

The Lövfalla nature reserve is a small area of old-growth forest, unaffected by modern forestry. However, the forest has suffered many hardships, including a forest fire in 1997 and, in the spring of 2007, a thunderstorm swept through the area.

Fasaskogen

The reserve is located in a part of Kilsbergen that is extremely rich in large boulders. The area has long been known as Fasaskogen. Most of the spruce forests in the reserve are 130 years old, but a few spruces are 150 years old. Some 240-year-old pines also remain. Lövfalla has much of what is characteristic of the unaffected forest. Many large aspens remain, full of lichens that thrive in the humid climate that forms in dense forest.

Picking sticks from dead pines

In the eastern part of the reserve there is also a fire field after a forest fire in 1997, when five hectares of mire and pine forest caught fire after a lightning strike. Several old pines died and today new trees have started to grow on the site. In spring 2007, a tornado swept through the reserve and felled many of the oldest pines that survived the fire. For the unaccustomed visitor, the collection of dead trees may seem untidy. But the dead wood is actually more alive than when the trees themselves were alive. Many of the wind-felled pines are coarse trees, which are a valuable addition to the habitats of insects and fungi that live on and off dead wood. Some birds also benefit greatly from dead wood, through the increased presence of insects. This is particularly true for woodpeckers.

Many species worth protecting

An inventory found over 50 species worthy of protection among plants, mosses, lichens, fungi and birds. Birds that can be seen in the area are goshawks, wolverines, woodpeckers, three-toed woodpeckers, sparrow owls and various wood tits.