Sköllersta prästäng, Naturreservat

The Sköllersta priest's meadow nature reserve consists of the old hay meadow of the priest's residence. Today, the southern parts of the reserve are grazed, while the northern part consists of a grove-like deciduous forest.

Priest's meadow

Sköllersta priest's meadow is an old hay meadow and pasture garden, which belonged to Sköllersta vicarage. The land is still owned by the church. Hay was harvested from the wooded meadow as winter feed for the farm animals. At times, the meadow was probably also used for grazing. For many years in the 20th century, it was allowed to grow over and decay. Now the southern parts are again pasture. Clearing has been carried out to allow the oaks to grow. Sköllersta Priest's Meadow shows how important it is for humans and animals to work actively in the landscape to provide the natural values we want.

Deciduous natural forest

In the northern part, no clearing has taken place, which makes it easy to see the difference between managed and unmanaged nature. The northern part will be allowed to continue to develop into a deciduous natural forest with the great natural values that such a forest also has. In addition to oak, the southern part includes hazel and maple. In the field layer there is a relatively rich spring flora with wood anemone, cuckoo pea and wood violet. More nitrogen-rich species such as stinging nettle, eagle fern and dogbane have also established themselves in the meadow. The vegetation in the northern parts is more mixed woodland, with ragwort, squirrelberry, stoneberry and oak bracken. The shrub layer includes hazel and bramble. The ground is slightly hilly towards the east, and in the eastern parts there are some deciduous bogs with thinned stands of alder and cabbage oak.

Oak valuable for insects

An old oak is a paradise for a number of insect species. Cavities and under the bark provide hiding places and food. Many of our rarest beetle species depend on old oaks. The southern part of the reserve is to be managed so that the meadow and pasture character of the area is maintained, and it is therefore grazed with cattle or sheep. Oak and hazel will be the dominant tree species. The northern part should remain ungrazed and be allowed to develop into a grove-like deciduous forest. However, spruce should be kept in check.