Jönsaskogen, Naturreservat

The Jönsaskogen nature reserve consists of a wild, old-growth forest area on the edge of Kilsbergen. There are plenty of moisture-demanding fungi, lichens and mosses as well as rare birds.

Bergslagsbygd

The name of the nearby village of Hällshyttan testifies to the area's history of mining within the so-called Lekebergslagen. The area's large differences in altitude and many watercourses created good conditions for building both smelting works and hammer forges. Many crofts and cottages around the smelters housed people who made their living by producing large quantities of charcoal and transporting coal, iron and ore to and from the smelters and forges. In the reserve there are traces of coal production in the form of at least one coal pit. Just next to the northeastern boundary of the reserve are the remains of the Asphöjden hut, which was reportedly inhabited until a few years into the 20th century. The forest was used intensively during the mining period, mainly for coal production but also for forest grazing, but has since been left mainly without forestry measures and developed into a natural forest-like state.

Varied old-growth forest

Jönsaskogen is part of a larger contiguous natural forest-like forest area with a great wealth of moisture-demanding cryptogams, i.e. fungi, mosses, lichens, ferns and others that reproduce with spores instead of seeds. The area's herb-rich spruce forest types are particularly valuable, not least because they are unusual in the county's other protected nature areas. The reserve consists of a long, narrow old-growth forest parcel that contains several forest types. The upland parts, not far from the Tväggelåten tarn, are dominated by sparse pine forest. While high-stemmed shady moist spruce forest closes on the slopes to the southeast. Several ridges run through the area in a north-south direction. Between these are swamp forest strips. On the most fertile slopes in the lower stream valley, the spruce forest has grown considerably. The tallest spruces here reach over 30 meters. Deciduous trees are sparse in the area, of which aspen is the most common, and there are several really large aspens in the area. At Asphöjden there are a couple of larger maples and in wetter areas birch and alder grow. The age of the trees also varies greatly in the reserve. The oldest trees are somewhere around 180 years old and there is plenty of dead wood. Examples of rare species that have been found in the area are the knotweed, the common crow, the three-toed woodpecker and the starry-throated fungus.

Accessibility

Jönsaskogen 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.