Älvskogen, Naturreservat

In the Älvskogen nature reserve, the spruces are draped with hanging lichens and the ground is covered with thick mats of moss. Here on the steep slope towards the Svartälven river, no forestry has been carried out for a long time. But it is hardly an ancient forest. Coal beds and house foundations bear witness to past forestry and agriculture.

Old forest

The history of the riverine forest has been studied using, among other things, drill samples from the trees. The older trees on the slope are between 100 and 300 years old, and no forestry has been carried out for the last 60 years. On the other hand, thinning, picking and small-scale felling were carried out in stages until the beginning of the 20th century.

Coral lichen and three-toed woodpecker

The old age of the trees and the high humidity favor many rare lichens and mosses. The yellow-white yarn lichen grows on pine and spruce branches, and coral lichen and shade lichen can be found on boulders. Large fox mosses form thick mats on the ground and the small wood staircase moss grows on fallen, rotten spruce logs. Decaying wood and old trees also attract various woodpeckers. Both the common woodpecker and the three-toed woodpecker occur in the reserve. The three-toed woodpecker is rare and dependent on old forest with plenty of dying and dead trees.

Peat huts and charcoal kilns

The forest out on Udden is quite young. There used to be a croft here surrounded by meadows and small fields. The forest has grown up since the house was moved and agriculture was abandoned in the early 1900s. The croft was one of several that lay under Kortforstorp - a large farm east of the reserve. The crofters did day labor on the farm, and in winter, charcoal cutting was an important occupation. In the reserve there are three so-called coal bunkers, where a coal mile stood. One of the coal bunkers has been used right into the 20th century. The explanation may be the proximity to Karlsdals mill, which needed charcoal for its operations and was in operation until 1932.

Accessibility

Älvskogen 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.

Read more about the leveling and management of protected nature