Sunday 11/12: Svartsundets old-growth forest in Östhammar municipality...

... spread out on both sides of Svartsundet at Söderboda on Gräsö. In May 2020, Naturarvet won the bid for a 32 ha property in an area that is the Natural Heritage's hottest hotspot for both high natural values and the climate. The meeting between forest and sea is tangible, not least in all the species that thrive here.

In the eastern part, there is old pine rockland and damp spruce swamp forest areas with, among other things, a rich element of aspen and, close to the shore, the endangered ash tree. There are also abandoned meadows, one of which has been given a pond in cooperation with the County Administrative Board to benefit the endangered gill frog, which needs access to old-growth forest for wintering. The western part is home to low-lying mixed forest with a large number of red-listed fungi, marshes and alpine meadows with, among other things, the lesser spotted woodpecker and several beautiful singing passerines. And throughout the property there is plenty of dead wood in various stages.

Right next to the western part of the forest, a large continuous hygge spreads out, and had Naturarvet not won the bidding, parts of the 150-year-old forest we acquired would also have become hygge within a year, while other parts of the forest would have been thinned to become hygge later on.

The old-growth forest in eastern Svealand stores the most carbon in Sweden in the form of humus. Where hay was harvested from coastal meadows 70 years ago now grows the Nordic region's own "mangrove", the carbon storage champion alsumpskogen, which is already starting to show signs of age with the development of "thresholds" at the base of the trunk. The strong growth, driven by a cooperation between the tree roots and nitrogen-capturing bacteria, as well as the fallout of leaves, cones, twigs, branches, dead trees and the fact that the forest grows in a wet nutrient-rich swamp, creates powerful topsoil layers of carbon-rich humus every century.

This was the first property where Naturarvet was able to enter a bidding process having raised most of the purchase price in advance. The seller was confident that the entire purchase would be financed in time for the closing, which took place in September. So as not to be completely out of pocket, Naturarvet obtained an interest-free, unsecured loan of SEK 400 000 from a private individual in order to pay on time. The loan was settled by Christmas after a strong fundraising effort in the last quarter of the year. Tip: give the best Christmas present - old-growth forest that can age in peace - with your own designed gift certificate in our forestry shop.

The subsequent collection of earmarked forest plots and other large areas for Svartsundets old-growth forest laid the foundation for the next acquisition of a property when the opportunity arose. Having secured the financing of a forest acquisition before purchase is the successful strategy that Naturarvet has adopted since 2015. Support us, preferably as forest patron and help strengthen the pot of raised capital, so we can be ready to buy the next forest that comes up for sale and wants to come into the ownership of the Natural Heritage.

Read more about the forest here.
See the collection map here.