Örups almskog, kärr och ängar , Naturreservat

In the nature reserve Örup's elm forest, marshes and meadows you will find a forest in transition as a result of Dutch elm disease, herb-rich pastures and a calcareous marsh with a fine flora. The dead elms create suitable habitats for a variety of insects and today a new generation of trees is growing ever larger in the forest.

Örup elm forest

When Örup's elm forest was protected in 1928, it was a lush and special forest dominated by the hardwood elm. Together with the richly flowering spring flora, this made Örup Forest something of a rarity. In 1979, however, the forest would change radically over the course of a few years.

Elm disease affects Örup

Dutch elm disease broke out in the reserve and in just five years around 85% of the elms died. Since then, the Örup forest has been in a state of flux. Other tree species, shrubs and stinging nettles quickly appeared after the large elms gave way. Today, a new generation of elms is also growing up in the forest, but it remains to be seen whether they will survive future outbreaks of Dutch elm disease.

The abundance of dead trees provides excellent habitats for a variety of insects that depend on access to dead or dying wood. The reserve is home to beetle species such as the large cardinal beetle, the beech bark beetle and the large flat-nosed beetle, as well as the magnificent golden beetles, the noble golden beetle and the grass green beetle.

Örup marshes and meadows

On the open grazed land south of the forest, there are large areas of the rare vegetation types chalk meadow and chalk marsh, as well as rich tall herb meadows. The calcareous wet meadow has a great diversity of species, including sedge, pigweed, wild linden and orchids.

In the middle of the meadow there is a large limestone fen formed as a slightly raised spring dome with small water flows. Along these grow abundantly with both button grass and ax grass, the former a great rarity. There are also species such as buttercups, mayweed, hay flower, sedge, marsh marigold and marsh helleborine. The calcareous environment also creates good conditions for terrestrial snails, and the marsh contains some rare species of grass snail.