Objective
The site of Grossjöberget is one of the largest and best documented old growth forests of its kind in the County of Gävleborg. It consists of 338 ha of continuous forest, without roads or paths, growing on a small moraine-covered mountain. Interwoven in the forest are a few small but intact aapa mires, another priority habitat type under the Habitats Directive.
Very little forestry has taken place here during the last decades and so the forest cover is virtually unbroken by clear-cuts. Consequently, the dominating generation of pine is around 185 years old although many of the trees are closer to 300-400 years of age. Added to this is a high proportion of deciduous trees and dead or dying stumps lying on the ground which provide valuable habitat for a wide variety of other animals and plants. Such old growth virgin forests have all but disappeared from the Swedish boreal lowlands and a concerted effort is now required to protect the remaining sites both for their own conservation value and for the high diversity of species which they harbour.
Recognising the importance of the site, the owners - one large forest company and several private individuals - were persuaded 14 years ago by the nature conservation groups to voluntarily refrain from harvesting the trees until such a time that sufficient funds could be raised to purchase the land from them and make a nature reserve out of it. This is now possible with co-financing under LIFE and with contributions both from the Bollnäs municipality itself and the Swedish Environment Protection Agency. A variety of measures will be used to reach agreement with the land owners. This will depend on their individual preferences, some will be given economic compensation for loss of income whilst others prefer for their land to be swapped with another suitable forestry site outside the area. Once secured, a management plan will be drawn up to secure its long term conservation.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
82180 Bollnäs
Sweden