Nittenmossen, Naturreservat

The Nittenmossen nature reserve is a real textbook example of a bog, where many of the bog's different forms are found in a small area. The bog has a rich bird life and is bordered to the east by a coniferous forest, where hanging lichens grow like gnomes' beards on the tree branches.

Green Legs and Cranes

Crane, yellowhammer and greenfinch are some of the birds that nest here. The greenshank, like many other waders, has a characteristic playful flight and is generally a rather noisy bird. If you get too close to the nest, it sits down in a pine top and warns you. Heather, dwarf birch and tufa grow in a carpet of various white mosses. While the spiked sedge is one of the species found in the wetter marsh areas. The teal, Sweden's smallest duck, nests in the many pools.

A bog is both a bog and a marsh

Nittenmossen is located on the border between Dalarna and Örebro counties. A bog is composed of both bogs and fens. Bogs get their water solely from precipitation such as rain and snow, while fens are in contact with groundwater. Nittenmossen is a complex bog with both bogs and fens. It was studied in the 1940s by Hugo Sjörs, a professor of plant biology. He was a pioneer conservationist and an expert on bogs.

Eccentric and concentric bogs

The part of the bog in Örebro County is one half of a so-called eccentric bog. This means a bog that has its highest point at the edge of the bog. In Dalarna County, the bog consists of two so-called concentric bogs. A concentric bog has its highest point in the middle of the bog.

Old coniferous forest

To the east, the bog is bordered by a coniferous forest with traces of fire. The absence of modern forestry has created a species-rich old growth forest. Rare lichens such as twig lichen and violet-grey thorn lichen grow on the trees. Typical birds in the forest include the tufted titmouse, capercaillie and three-toed woodpecker. The impressive barn owl has also been spotted in the area.

Accessibility

Nittenmossen 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.