Danbo, Naturreservat

Danbo Nature Reserve is a small but rich reserve. There are old forests, sandy grasslands, rauks and fine beaches. The reserve is located between Sjaustru and Grynge fishing villages, which makes it easy to visit. Danbo is criss-crossed by paths, both in the forest and along the sea, which makes it easy to explore. South of the sandy heath stands an old stone shed that is now open to the public as a resting place. A wonderful excursion destination!

Most of Danbo nature reserve is covered with coniferous forest. In the inner parts, the forest is dense and dominated by spruce. Closest to the sea, it consists of sparse low-growing pines. The forest has been left largely untouched during the 20th century and is now partly beginning to take on a primeval forest character. In the northern part of the reserve, the forest grows on old dunes of drifting sand, and the herb flora here is dominated by blueberries, squirrels and white coneflower.

In the northern part of the reserve, the substrate consists entirely of sand, and outside the coniferous forest there is a 50-100 meter wide, flat and open sandy heath. Only a few plant species can grow in the nutrient-poor sand, and the vegetation consists mainly of lichens and mosses as well as grasses and sedges such as bristle rush and sand sedge. From the end of April to the middle of May, large numbers of anemones flower on the open sandy heath. During the early summer, the field bindweed fruit collections resemble small round silvery lashes.

Closest to the sea, the sandy heath turns into a low dune that runs a few meters inside the waterline. On the dune, the vegetation is more tall and completely dominated by the two grasses sand reed and beach rye, which are joined by, among other things, sand lettuce and beach vial. At the far end, on the upper part of the beach plane, you will find saltwort and marjoram.

Read more about coastal sandy habitats here Link to another website.

Two of Sweden's rarest plants grow in the Danbo nature reserve: the fern spleenwort and the buttercup relative Gotland daisy. Both species occur in Sweden only on Gotland and here only in a few places each. Both are protected!