Övre Lia, Naturreservat

Övre Lia is located right next to the well-known Åkulla beech forest area. Like several reserves in the area, it consists mainly of beech and oak forests that have grown up under nutrient-poor conditions. Övre Lia is remote and not easy to find, but those who make their way here can experience seclusion and tranquillity. The forest is quite sparse and easy to move around in.
Hiking in the area and looking at the trees is soothing. The northern and western parts are particularly worth a visit. The reserve is located on a plateau and this area offers dramatic and exciting differences in altitude. When the trees are defoliated, natural viewpoints are also offered.

Biological values

The trunks are covered with green moss. In between and on the green shoots there are spots in shades of gray and brown, as if someone had taken a brush and painted a bit haphazardly. Splashed a little here and a little there. If you study the spots more closely, you can see that they consist of different lichens. Some are unusual, such as mussel lichen, beech wart lichen, grainy felt lichen and shiny spot. They are all so-called signal species that show that the forest in Upper Lia has high natural values. These species are only found in places where there has been forest for a long time.

In several parts of the reserve there are old and crooked trees that are still alive, although they sometimes seem to have larger cavities than healthy wood. Some trees are completely dead and are now slowly being broken down by forest organisms. Dead wood, especially from broadleaf trees, is in short supply in today's forest landscape. As a result, many species that depend on this wood are threatened.

History of the forest

Upper Lia is an area where forests have grown for a long time. With the help of old maps and writings, you can take a trip back in time and find out what the mapmakers and surveyors of different times had to say about the area. The oldest maps date from 1650. At that time, Övre Lia was in a large deciduous forest belt that stretched from Tvååker to the county border. In a description of the county from 1729, we can read that there was beech forest in Övre Lia. As far back as we can see, the maps show that there have always been trees and forests in the area, but that Övre Lia was largely used as fields, meadows and pastures right up until the 1920s.