Flemingsbergsskogen Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Flemingsberg
Flemingsberg a southern suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, located in Huddinge Municipality in the south-western part of the contiguous Stockholm urban area....
's Forest") is a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in Huddinge Municipality
Huddinge Municipality
Huddinge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge, which is a part of Stockholm urban area.The municipality is the second most populated in Stockholm County....
south of central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
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The reserve was created in 2006 and encompasses some 956 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
of land and 11 ha of water. It is composed of rocky upland areas with Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
forests and bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s, and nutrient-rich lowland areas with spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
and deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forests. On its eastern side it borders to the Orlången Nature Reserve
Orlången Nature Reserve
Orlången Nature Reserve is a nature reserve surrounding Lake Orlången in central Huddinge Municipality, south of Stockholm, Sweden.There are four lakes within the reserve: Trehörningen , Ågestasjön, Orlången, and Mörtsjön....
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Biodiversity
Due to the area's inaccessibility, it has been spared from large-scale forestryForestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
which has resulted in a unique biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
encompassing some 300 red-listed
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
species dependent of coherent virgin lands. Most notably the Wood Grouse
Capercaillie
The Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....
has a permanent presence in the reserve, and as the area is barely sufficient for the species it is regarded as important to maintain or if possible increase the size of the area. Old pasture-lands along the eastern and northern borders of the area adds further to its biodiversity, as do the Reeds
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
in the Fleminsberg Bay (Flemingsbergsviken), the northern inflow of Lake Orlången
Orlången
Orlången is a lake in central Huddinge Municipality, just south of Stockholm, Sweden.Orlången, one of the lakes in the Tyresån Lake System, forms part of the Orlången Nature Reserve.- Catchment area :...
, which an important locale for several species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s. Two historical mines in the area are today filled with water and have become important locales for the rare Great Crested Newt
Great Crested Newt
The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
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History
Several axes from the Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
found in the area indicates it was first populated about 7-8.000 years ago. Two Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
s (500 BCE-1050 CE) within the reserve are believed to have served as retreats from robbers who frequently entered the Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
region from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to raid the area. The upland location of these forts must have made them beyond reach for enemies who would hardly drag their ships to a location 10-15 metres above sea level. The Stensättra Mansion located south-east of the fort, is believed to date back to the Viking Era, though the present building was created in the 1820s.