Brännan, Naturreservat

Here the visitor has the opportunity to see natural spruce forests and forests with varying degrees of fire impact, from fresh fire fields to older burns.
The burn is a diverse mix of different biotopes, consisting of old spruce forests, swamp forests, wetlands, fire fields, clearcuts, older pine forests and young forests.

Four areas have been burned in the Brännan nature reserve. The last burning was done on June 29, 2017. A hiking trail with information signs runs across the 2017 and 1997 burn areas.

Historically, fires are a natural feature of the forest landscape and an important prerequisite for forest biodiversity. A number of species are dependent on the living conditions created by fires. As fires in the modern forest landscape have been greatly reduced, the existence of many of these species is threatened. Conservation burning is therefore an important management method.

Animals and plants

The old, coarse deciduous trees, mainly aspen, and the amount of dead wood, form the basis for the existence of many unusual and threatened species, such as aspen jelly lichen, leatherjacket lichen, large aspen tick and aspen cap moss. The cryptogamic community in general is rich in species, including broktagel and lung lichen.

The reserve is also home to three threatened insect species: the northern flatworm, the greater flatworm and the giant sponge moth. Among the vascular plants, the most notable are ferns and the small orchid knotweed. The bird fauna in Brännan is home to many species that are linked to old forest and dead wood. For example, several of the country's more unusual woodpecker species have been observed in the reserve. Capercaillie, wolverine, black grouse, long-eared owl and barn owl are found in the area. Other more unusual birds include the barn owl and Värmland's regional bird, the little bittern.

Culture

Human use of the area goes way back in time. Along the shores of Sandsjön there are several ancient remains in the form of settlements and trapping pits. Forestry has been extensive and there are remains of several saws in the area. However, much of the old-growth forest is unaffected by recent measures.