Munkarps fälad, Naturreservat

Munkarps fälad is a small hilly pasture with juniper bushes and marshes. The field is a remnant of the extensive pasture that once belonged to Munkarp village. The field is adorned with plants such as wood anemone, cat's-foot, bluebell and haymaking. Two pebble ridges rise in the north and in the central parts there are two ancient hollow ways. A marked trail takes you around this varied pasture.

A cultural landscape characterized by grazing

At Munkarps fälad you get a picture of what a large part of the Scanian landscape looked like in the past. Meadow fields are dominated by junipers and vegetation that has been influenced by the grazing and trampling of grazing animals for centuries.

Flower-rich field meadows

In dry to fresh parts of the reserve, rice plants such as heather, lingonberry, bilberry and hemlock are common, along with grasses, sedges and herbs typical of unfertilized field margins, such as knotweed, pillwort, cat's foot, wood anemone, bluejoint and maidenhair. The presence of hay meadow, pig's root and night violet suggests that parts of the field may have been used as hay meadows. The wetlands also contain plants that are dependent on haymaking, such as bellwort, cranberry and spruce spurge.

Pebble ridges with a view

In the northern part of the reserve there are two mighty pebble ridges with an intermediate ridge pit. This has previously been used for farming, as indicated by the stone-free and flat ground. There are a large number of sparse birch trees, which form a beautiful pastoral landscape. From the southern ridge there is a magnificent view over the landscape towards the open farmland, other field remains and the forest on the horizon. In this part of the reserve you can also see the remains of older enclosures of various types (pit walls, earth banks and stone walls).

Outdoor recreation

In the reserve there is a marked trail that takes you around the field. Keep an eye out for ancient remains in the form of hollow ways and feel free to take a detour up to the two pebble ridges in the northern part. There is a rest area at the parking lot adjacent to the reserve and the nearest bus stop Ljungkullen is only a few hundred meters from the area. Remember to take your rubbish home.

In English

Welcome to Munkarps fälad Nature Reserve

Munkarps fälad Nature Reserve gives you an idea of what the countryside in central Skåne looked like a few hundred years ago. Here, between the plains of the south and the large forests in the north, the main livelihood was animal husbandry. Extensive grazing areas and juniper pastures dominated the landscape. Follow the marked trail and discover the countryside of our forefathers.

In Munkarps fälad, animals graze among hills and junipers. Fälad is a southern Swedish word meaning common pasture. The outland was situated beyond the cultivated fields and grazed by animals from the village. Plants such as wolf's bane and viper's-grass show that some of the pasture was also used for hay-making.

Despite grazing the pasture slowly became overgrown. A careful restoration program started in 2017. By removing trees and shrubs the pastures are being brought back to their former glory.

But junipers will be left to allow both children and grazing animals to play hide and seek among them. In late summer, small yellow and red fungi grow in the pasture. These are different species of waxcaps, a group of fungi that only grow in areas with a long history of

grazing and where no chemical fertilizers have been used.

In the northern part of the reserve are two parallel eskers that converge to the west. In the valley between the ridges is an old abandoned field, which has been cleared from stones.

Look out for sunken lanes crossing the marked trail in several places. These are the remains of old paths and roads, shaped by feet and hooves.

Lake Lösjön in the north-western part of the reserve has been drained and is now surrounded by quagmire with sphagnum and sedge. Here you find the small spreadwing damselfly and brown hawker skimming the water. On the wet riparian meadows, the green

sandpiper strolls in search of insects.

Regulations

Within Munkarps fälad Nature Reserve it is forbidden to:

• damage fixed natural objects or surface formations,
• deliberately break up or collect and remove dead wood, break off branches, fell or in any other way damage living or dead standing or fallen trees and shrubs,
• drive watercraft on Lake Lösjö,
• dig up plants (including mosses) or lichens, pick wood-living fungi or the plant species wolf's bane, or pick flowers for commercial purposes,
• bring dogs unless kept on a physical leash,
• deliberately disturb or influence wildlife.

Furthermore, without written permission from the County Administrative Board it is forbidden to:

• put up boards, sings, posters, or similar, or make inscriptions,
• catch insects, spiders, gastropods or other invertebrate animals other than by netting, hand picking or other selective method with subsequent reintroduction within the nature reserve. The requirement for reintroduction does not apply to individual voucher specimens of each species on condition that the record is logged in the reporting system Artportalen and that the collection is not contrary to the species protection regulations,
• place out foreign objects (e.g. geocaches or similar).