Murstensdalen, Naturreservat

The Murstensdalen nature reserve is the second largest and most wilderness-like of the nature reserves in Örebro County after Kindla. It is a quiet and untouched wilderness with deep ravines, plateaus with old pine forests, stretches of marshes, ponds and lakes. It is a roadless country where you can often be all to yourself.

Highland area

Murstensdalen is the second largest and most wilderness-like of the nature reserves in Örebro County after Kindla. It is a quiet and untouched wilderness with deep ravines, high plateaus with old pine forests, stretches of marshes, ponds and lakes. It's a roadless land where you can often be left to your own devices. The reserve consists of a high plateau, Mosserudsplatån, which in the east ends in crevice valleys with mountain ridges, the actual Murstensdalen. The highest point in the area is 306 meters above sea level and the lowest about 190 meters. To the west of the area is Lokadalen. The bedrock consists of granite.

In the southwest, the area borders the nature reserve Blecktjärnsskogen and in the south to the nature reserve Djupa dalen

Use of the forest

The forest in Murstensdalen was partly utilized during the heyday of mining from the 17th to 19th centuries. After the mining era, forestry took off. However, the area was considered to have too little timber to be worth extracting, so the forest was left untouched. The reserve has been virtually uninhabited, and only one croft, Karlbo, is known. The forest in the reserve will be allowed to develop freely to become an old natural forest again. However, several of the small young forests will be burned when they reach a suitable age. There are around thirty small and large lakes, ponds and bogs in the area. The lakes are nutrient-poor, and many have been naturally fishless. Three of them have names that refer to this.

Forest fires - important for many species

The forests of Bergslagen have generally been affected by recurrent forest fires. There are clear traces of fires in many places in the reserve. An inventory of the fire history in Murstensdalen shows that when the area was untouched natural forest, large fires occurred about five times a century. From the beginning of the 17th century, the Swedes and the mining industry played a major role in the area, and forest fires increased to about ten per century. Since 1809, there have been no major forest fires in the area. It is a major departure from nature that forest fires produce such species-rich forests. One of the oldest living pines in Murstensdalen sprouted in 1545. The oldest dead pine stump still standing that has been dated sprouted in the 13th century and probably died in the great fire of 1575. The annual rings show what the pine has been through and how many fires have occurred over the centuries in the place where the tree lived.

Species richness in the natural forest

The forest in the reserve grows on poor soil. There are large, sparse and slow-growing pine forests alternating with rocky areas and bogs. To the east, a valley runs in a north-south direction with nutrient-rich soil, and fertile spruce forest grows here. The ground is covered with brushwood, including hemlock and dwarf birch. The rocky areas provide conditions for many different lichens to live. Several unusual fungi live and grow near and on the old or dead trees. A number of specialized bird species thrive in the old coniferous forest. Capercaillie has a very good population in the area, and several breeding sites are known. One of the few pairs of three-toed woodpeckers in the area nests here. It leaves clear traces in the form of notched rings around the spruce trunks, in its hunt for sawdust. At some of the smaller ponds there are, among other things, little grebes and cranes.

Three of the four large predators

Of Sweden's four large predators, three are temporary or permanent guests in the area. The lynx has a strong population here, and the area is occasionally visited by bears and wolves. Fishing is currently carried out in some of the lakes by Karlskoga sport fishing club. They are working to maintain the weak trout population in the area. However, the public is not allowed to fish within the reserve. Hunting is conducted to a normal extent within the reserve.

Explore Murstensdalen in winter

Perhaps the best time to discover Murstensdalen is in winter, when you can easily cross the snow on skis or snowshoes. This way you can get to places where paths and hiking trails do not reach. There are both grouse and capercaillie in the area. If you're lucky, you'll bump into one of them, which will fly away with a terrifying roar. There are shelters and fireplaces in several places in the reserve.

Accessibility

There is a parking lot in the northern part of the area. Two marked circular trails start from it, which are about 5 and 12 kilometers long. The trails are time-consuming and sometimes hilly to walk. Camping is allowed for a maximum of one day at Lake Lången. The reserve has two shelters with fireplaces and another fireplace.

Is there firewood?

Firewood is available at the fire pit. Remember to burn in moderation, so that there is enough wood for future guests. The firewood is replenished regularly, but we cannot guarantee availability at all times. If you want to be sure to be able to make a fire - bring your own firewood. It is not allowed to burn sticks and branches from the forest in the reserve.

Sign interpreted information

Winter excursions in the brick valley

Quiet forests in the Mursten Valley