Söderåsen National Park in southern Sweden opened in 2001 and covers 1625 hectares. It is a diverse park situated on a horst with mixed deciduous forests dominated by beech, mighty screes, high cliffs, running streams and wide views. In the rift valleys and deciduous forests of the National Park the flora and fauna is unique; you will find a broad diversity of wood beetles, ferns, mosses, lichen and fungi and many other organism groups.
Constantly evolving…
The forest, mountain and waters are constantly changing, and the purpose of the park is to facilitate natural change and development. Biological diversity is to evolve and to be enhanced. Dead trees and wood are to be left untouched. Cultural remnants such as ancient farmland, mounds and ruins will be preserved and by some means visualized. We have a Visitors Centre, “naturum Skäralid”, by the main park entrance with exhibitions, folders, displays, guided tours, a nature trail and restaurant with organic and local produce as key themes.
Access to nature
In order to make it easy for people to experience the National Park, a large part of our work is to maintain about 50 km hiking trails (some of them with wooden paths), areas with fire places and cabins where staying overnight is allowed, toilets and parking areas. We continuously work to enhance the access for disabled people to buildings and trails.
Documentation of the natural values of the National Park is another important task. In 2010, a coffee-table book, “An Enchanting World – Söderåsen National Park”, was published, with text and beautiful photos describing almost everything you might want to know about the park. We have also published books on the lichens, mosses and fungi in the park, and research has been done on many other organism groups.
Successful projects
During the years 2002 -2006 we ran “Restoration of Deciuous Forest in Söderåsen National Park”, a LIFE Nature project in which initial measures were taken to convert existing coniferous forests to deciduous forests. The main actions included game fencing, spruce cutting and planting of different broadleaf tree-species, mainly oak and beech. The project was a great success and the management of planted areas continues. We also manage the existing deciduous forest, mainly the younger parts to enhance the nature values.
We are currently 6 people working full time in the park and we wish you all very welcome to Söderåsen! For more information, please visit the Söderåsen National Park website.