Trollskogen

Last updated March 22, 2019

Trollskogen ("enchanted forest" or "troll's forest") is a windswept, grazed pine forest and nature reserve in the northeast corner of the Baltic island Öland, Sweden (Böda socken, Borgholm Municipality). The forest is on a promontory with an exposed shingle beach on the eastern side, the side of the Baltic Sea, and a sheltered bay on the western side, of Grankullaviken bay. The 100-hectare (250-acre) reserve, formerly a Domänreservat, (protected by the Swedish government forestry agency) is part of the Böda Kronopark. Its southeastern boundary is also the north border of the nature reserve Bödakusten östra.

The Baltic Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, northeast Germany, Poland, Russia and the North and Central European Plain.

Öland is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 square kilometres and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 26,000 inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait and connected to it by the 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) Öland Bridge, which opened on 30 September 1972.

Böda socken is a former socken of Åkerbo Hundred on Öland, Sweden. Since 1974, it's part of the Borgholm Municipality on the island of Öland, Sweden. It covers 107 square kilometers and had 773 inhabitants in 2000.

Description

Öland has a unique ecology containing many endemic and rare plants not found anywhere else. Trollskogen is characterized by its lichen-covered pine trees; those close to the exposed shore (a shingle beach) have been deformed by the wind. The interior of the forest contains pine trees, up to 200 years old, interspersed with old oaks, a remnant of the former grazing pastures in the Boda forests. Today, cattle still graze here, ensuring the biodiversity of the ecosystem, native grass and herb diversity. The western edge is formed by the grazed and forested areas of the Grankullaviken bay.

A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. The combined lichen has properties different from those of its component organisms. Lichens come in many colors, sizes, and forms. The properties are sometimes plant-like, but lichens are not plants. Lichens may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose), flat leaf-like structures (foliose), flakes that lie on the surface like peeling paint (crustose), a powder-like appearance (leprose), or other growth forms.

A shingle beach is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles. Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging from 2 to 200 millimetres diameter.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one-another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and other microbes.

The old oaks and pines are a rich habitat for lichens,^[1] insects, fungi, and mosses. The rich flora of the reserve includes endangered and rare species such as Pachyphiale carneola, Calicium abietinum, and Sphinctrina. More common plants include burr chervil, Prince's pine, and Baltic wormwood.

Pachyphiale is a genus of fungi within the Gyalectaceae family.

Calicium is a genus of leprose lichen lichens. It is in the family Caliciaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains 30 species.

Sphinctrina is a genus of lichenized fungi within the Sphinctrinaceae family.

History

The oldest human traces in Trollskogen are some 15 cairns and stone circles. Grankullavik, formerly called Örboviken, was a naval base in the 15th century, dominating much of the central Baltic Sea. Traces of fortifications remain to the east and west, and a stone wall (possibly used to demarcate a hunting domain), some 230 feet (70 m) long and dating from the reign of King John III (1537–1592), remains to the south.

A cairn is a human-made pile of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn[ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ].

A stone circle is a circular alignment of standing stones. They are commonly found across Northern Europe and Great Britain and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age eras, with most concentrations appearing from 3000 BC. The best known examples include those at the henge monument at Avebury, the Rollright Stones and elements within the ring of standing stones at Stonehenge. Ancient stone circles appear throughout Europe with many appearing in the Pyrenees, on the Causse de Blandas in southern France in the Cevennes, in the Alps, and Bulgaria.

Grankullavik is a village on the Grankullaviken bay in the north of Öland, Sweden, in the Böda socken, Borgholm Municipality.

The eastern shore is the site of the wreck of the Swiks , a schooner that was wrecked on the coast on 21 December 1926; its crew of seven escaped in a lifeboat.

The Swiks was a three-masted schooner from Åland that sank in the Baltic Sea, off the island of Öland, Sweden, on 21 December 1926.

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel with fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts. The most common type has two masts, the foremast being shorter than the main. While the schooner was originally gaff-rigged, modern schooners typically carry a Bermuda rig.

Visitor information

The area has three hiking trails, with signage, one of which is accessible for strollers. A nature center at the parking area provides information on the area and its surroundings.

Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages, infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks, baskets and bicycle carriers.

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References

↑ Knutsson, T.; T. Johansson; H. Lundkvist (1999). "Barkoch vedlevande lavar i Trollskogen, Böda, Oland" [Epiphytic and lignicolous lichens in Trollskogen, B6da, Oland, SE. Sweden]. Graphis Scripta . 10: 29–48.

External links

Trollskogen visitor's brochure, English
Trollskogen on Global Species

Coordinates: 57°21′00″N17°07′24″E / 57.3501°N 17.1233°E / 57.3501; 17.1233

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[1] Knutsson, T.; T. Johansson; H. Lundkvist (1999). "Barkoch vedlevande lavar i Trollskogen, Böda, Oland" [Epiphytic and lignicolous lichens in Trollskogen, B6da, Oland, SE. Sweden]. Graphis Scripta . 10: 29–48.