Loskälva skogs nature reserve

In the areas to the south, southeast and east of Erken, it is the cultivated landscape that characterizes the terrain. This area extends down toward Lake Lommaren and Norrtälje in the south. From Husby-Sjuhundra in the southwest up toward Estuna in the northeast via the lowered lake Slänningen, however, there runs a strip with forests that alternate in a mosaic with cultivated land. In this strip of forest lands lies Loskälva skog north of Slänningen. It is a large contiguous coniferous forest area with old-growth forest. The natural values are primarily linked to the continuity of old-growth forest, calcareous soil, dead wood and an interesting cryptogam flora with several unusual and red-listed species. Within the proposed nature reserve, the following species have been found among others: pine bracket fungus, spruce bracket fungus, woolly bracket fungus, spindle coral fungus, grey spruce bracket fungus, copper spike fungus, cushion spike fungus, forest coral root, self-heal, bronze longhorn beetle, banded pine longhorn beetle, giant fungus moth and green woodpecker. Several of them are red-listed and most are also so-called indicator species, which indicate high forest values. Source: Nature Conservation Register (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) and OpenStreetMap.