Iglekärr becomes a nature reserve
Welcome to Iglekärrs old-growth forest!
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PRESS RELEASE |
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2016-09-29 |
Iglekärrs old-growth forest becomes a nature reserve |
| Contacts:
County Administrative Board Västra Götaland Naturarvet Press Officer:
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The County Administrative Board has decided to protect the 75-hectare Iglekärr old-growth forest in Ale municipality as a nature reserve. This will preserve valuable mixed forest and several red-listed species around the lake Stora Iglekärr, where you can also sit down on the bench sculpted from an oak log from the Botanical Garden in Gothenburg.
In Iglekärrs old-growth forest, near Skepplanda, just under 4 km north of Gothenburg, some 40 species indicating high nature values have been found, of which 17 are red-listed and 35 are on the Swedish Forest Agency's list of signal species. Signal species are a type of indicator species that are useful for locating and distinguishing forests with high nature values. - The forest around Stora Iglekärr has for several years been the subject of a fundraising campaign through the Naturarvet fundraising foundation with the aim of protect the forest for the future. This work is now coming to an end when the area becomes a nature reserve, says Peter Post, biologist at the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland. Almost five years ago, Naturarvet signed a contract with the then landowners to buy the forest area and the collection of the purchase price began. Over the years, a large number of individuals, companies and others have become involved in the collection. When the fundraising reached its halfway point, the County Administrative Board decided to contribute to the preservation of the area by contributing the remaining part of the purchase price. The Iglekärr nature reserve consists largely of old, sparse mixed coniferous forest dominated by pine with varying amounts of spruce and birch. There is also a lot of oak and aspen in the numerous slopes in the area. In the centre of the area is the lake Stora Iglekärr, where during the summer you can see the beautiful red variety of white water lily, Nymphaea alba f. rosea. By the lake you can also sit down for a while on the fantastic tribute bench that the chainsaw artist Tommy Craggs, commissioned by Naturarvet and with funding from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, has sculpted during the summer from an oak log from the Botanical Garden in Gothenburg. The coordinates of the bench are 57.985834, 12.256800 To make it easier for visitors, the County Administrative Board will build a new trail in the area. A parking lot will also be built along the road between Skepplanda and Kvarnabo. The coordinates of the parking place are 57.989872, 12.258848 |
