Wild nature

In Svartbäcksmåla you meet deep coniferous forests. Fir trees dominate but pine and deciduous trees like oak, maple and aspen are also common. On readily cultivated grounds grows straight stemmed conifers and by the former small houses grows large oaks. On slopes, in swamps and in terrain rich in granite and boulders you will find mostly primeval forest. A nice and peaceful conifer area is in “gammelskogen” (the old forest) south east of the ski slope. Here the moss is dense and hanging lichens is swaying in the breeze.

The pine trees thrive in both nutrient poor soil and wet areas. In the swamp forest in the eastern part there is an old pine forest with both healthy trees and older broken trees that provides suitable living spaces for both fungi, insects and birds.

Deciduous forest is intermixed in the whole area. By Tosetetorp is a deciduous grove that previously was pasture. Here we can find large lindens, oaks, hazelnut bushes and the gracile Lathyrus niger or black pea. In the steep ravine south of the grove there are alder, aspen, cherry, maple and elm trees. Here you can also discover the blue anemone, the sump violet and the strange plant toothwort. The sump violet thrive on the, at times, flooded area at the bottom of the ravine.

Sumpviol

Sumpviol. Photo: Hans Bister

Small and unknown

In Svartbäcksmåla, like in the rest of eastern Småland, there is a very rich insect fauna. This is partly due to the warm and dry climate and partly due to the combination of a diversified farmland with elements of sandy areas mixed with older forests with old or dead trees.

By the ridges the dark Småland gets open and light. In the sunlight many different heat loving species thrive, for example many different wild bees. The quick footed green beetles called Cicindela or the common tiger beetle, can spring up in front of your feet as you walk on the trails practically everywhere in Svartbäcksmåla.

The opposite of the dry ridges are the soggy stream edges. Along reeds and beaches you can find plenty of dragonflies, water scavenger beetles, water striders, flower flies and other insects that depend on water and the vegetation by the streams.

Watercourses

Like beautiful threads runs a network of watercourses through the area. S:t Sigfridsån (St Sigfrid stream) has a high natural value due to its biodiversity. The stream is named after the Apostle Sigfrid who was active in Småland during the 1000s. The beach forest is rich in variation with marshes and different types of trees. Thick alder trees with plinths of sprawling air roots gives an almost exotic impression.

Pikes hide in the deep holes in the stream and by Skabrodamm (Skabro pond) you can, if you are lucky, see the exotic kingfisher scout for small fish. During winter you can see dippers on rocks in the stream looking for bugs on the bottom of the stream.

stromstare

Strömstare. Photo: Hans Bister

kungsfiskare

Kungsfiskare. Photo Hans Bister

Winged

The variation rich countryside offers good living for a broad range of birds. During the pre-summer you can hear the nightingale’s keen song from bushes along the St Sigfrid stream or maybe the more discreet song of the smaller flycatcher. A yellow bird with an elongated tilting tail tells you that the stream is visited by the grey wagtail. In the marshes by Pukeberg live the more discreet moorhens.

You can run in to capercaillie all year round in coniferous forest, who then often lifts with noise wings. During summer nights the European nightjar buzzes about in the more open pine forests, while the nice chirp of the goldcrest can be heard all year in the spruce forest. In drier areas and by the ski slope you can hear the sad song of the woodlark.

More and more often the red kite can be seen flying over the forests and if you pay attention on the top of the ski slope, you might spy soaring eagles, which are not an uncommon sight against the horizon.