Åkersmyran

You can go here in summer for hiking and cycling or in winter for snowmobiling and skiing. It is close from both Borlänge and Djurås. The area contains cultural remains from the pastoral life and the coal-mining era. The 100-year-old forest is home to a great wealth of lichens and fungi, birds and flowers.

Forest with variation provides great species richness

This mixed deciduous-coniferous forest is between 100 and 150 years old. There are mossy and damp areas with the small flower knotweed, but also drier heights with old sparsely branched pines and bogs. Adjacent to Åkersmyra fäbod is a section of natural forest where the dead lying trees are many and the old standing spruces are rich in hanging lichens.

The varied forest landscape with rich structures provides conditions for many different species to thrive, including old-growth forest species such as three-toed woodpecker, nuthatch, wolverine, grouse and capercaillie. The nuthatch can be seen in one of the pictures above.

The forest is influenced by old-time farming

Even today, remnants remain from the charcoal burning era and the pastoral culture that previously prevailed in the area. The foundations of houses and shepherd's huts can be found in several places. The forest has long been subjected to felling of various types and sizes, including timber felling, thinning, charcoal felling, timber for the needs of the herders and forest grazing. In several areas, the forest has been left relatively untouched since the coal and pastoral era.