Siesjö östra, Naturreservat

Siesjö's wetland trail leads you on footpaths out into the reeds. From the bird tower you have a fine view of the bird life and the lake, which is embedded in a mosaic landscape of shore forests, broadleaf forests and open pastures.

The area has very high nature values. More than 180 bird species have been observed at the lake, of which around 80 can be counted as breeding species. Large numbers of migratory birds rest on and around the lake.

The topography varies from low-lying wooded marshlands adjacent to the lake, via both wet and dry pastures on the slope. There are also moraine hills with deciduous forest. The highest point, about 38 meters above sea level, is on a hill in the eastern part.

Siesjö is an important bird lake

Siesjö is a shallow, naturally nutrient-rich plain lake and important for both breeding birds and migratory birds and those that stay over the winter. Rare species, according to the EU Birds Directive, that have been spotted in the area are the skylark (also red-listed), red kite, skylark and shrike.

The lake is home to two species included in the EU Habitats Directive, which covers a wide range of species and their habitats. These are the fish, the water vole, and the insect, the lemon-spotted dragonfly.

In 1956, Siesjö was lowered by deepening the pass in Sissebäck by 1.5 meters in an attempt to create more arable land. But the low-lying land instead became riparian forests, where alder dominates, and pastures.

Belonged to the village of Ynde and the farm Sissebäck

The area has historically belonged to the village of Ynde and the Sissebäck farm. In the 1800s, the land was part of fenced paddocks with mostly meadows, both wet and dry, open and tree-bearing. A "vång" was part of a village's inland land with fields and meadows. Before the shift, the farms in a village were usually close together. Enskifte and then laga skifte were introduced in the 18th and 19th centuries to gather the land for each farm and make cultivation more efficient.

After the 1950s, most of the arable and meadow land became pasture. Here, the fields, which in many places have been replanted with forest, have not remained open. A small hay meadow remains.

Three key biotopes

Within the reserve there are three key biotopes with floodplain deciduous forest, deciduous swamp forest and nutritious beech forest. Where today's forests grow on the hills, there have largely been trees through the ages, documented at least back to the 19th century, and probably longer.

The area has a large number of red-listed or otherwise vulnerable species. The red-listed beech wren is a characteristic species for old and species-rich beech forests with long continuity and a sign of a forest stand with high natural values.