Malmhöjden, Naturreservat

The Malmhöjden nature reserve is located in Karlskoga municipality, north of Granbergsdal and east of Kedjeåsen. More than half of Sweden's surface area consists of forest. The vast majority of forests are planted with the same kind of trees in long rows. In Malmhöjden you can experience a forest that has been left alone, where the trees have lived and died at their own pace for a long time. A forest where the sparrow crow calls and owls hoot.

Varied nature

The terrain in the reserve is hilly and varied with heights, depressions, slopes and small mountainsides. There are large boulders everywhere on the ground. Spruce is the reserve's dominant tree species, but pine becomes more common on the heights. Malmtjärnsbäcken and Övartjärnsbäcken run through the area

and contribute with an even and stable humidity. The moist environment allows many mosses and lichens to thrive.

Rare lichens

Lichens are fascinating little creatures. They are actually two organisms, a fungus and an algae working together. The fungus builds the lichen and absorbs moisture, while the green alga produces energy with the help of the sun. Among the reserve's moisture-loving lichens is the rare species of Norwegian lichen. It only grows in damp areas that have been forested for a long time. Old aspen trees are home to rare species such as the bearded lichen, the stump lichen and the aspen yellow lichen.

Wildlife birds

The reserve's coarse pine trees are excellent homes for the woodpecker. It is the country's largest woodpecker and the only one capable of pecking out nest holes in living pines. The three-toed woodpecker chooses a dead or dying tree, preferably a spruce, for its nest hole. Here in the forest you have the chance to see them both.

Accessibility

Malmhöjden 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 recreation facilities.