Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

Forestry group finds hundreds of red-listed orchids in the Church’s forest that is planned for logging

Last weekend, Protect the Forest’s new local group in Eskilstuna municipality had its first meeting and was out inventorying the forest that Strängnäs Stift (part of the Swedish Church) has planned to clear-cut at Tandersten. The forestry group found over ten new premises for the protected and red-listed orchid Goodyera repens in the area, which will make logging more difficult.

The newly formed forest group walked to the threatened forest along an ancient path. Photo: Michael Lander

The logging notification covers 6.8 hectares and the forest can be described as a moist spruce forest with a mix of both pine and deciduous trees. There are several areas with small lakes in the forest and Häradsskog has marked out their planned logging right up to the water. The ground is covered with rough stones and blocks and one wonders how a forestry machine will be able to get there. Several small spruces that Häradskog has already removed have very dense annual rings, which means that they have grown slowly.

The inventory is in progress, Hanna Nordin in the newly formed forest group. Photo: M Lander

Clearing of the forest has already started but is now temporarily cancelled

The forestry company Häradskog had already started to cut down smaller trees and bushes but stopped doing it after Michael Lander from the Forestry Group told them about the orchid Goodyera repens growing here. The forest has not been inventoried by the landowner. The forest group has, in addition to reporting all the Goodyera repens that grows in the planned clear-cutting area, found species such as the wood-living fungi Skeletocutis odora which isred-listed as vulnerable (VU), the wood-living fungi Postia guttulata which is red-listed as near threatened (NT) and the protected and red-listed birds black woodpecker (NT) and willow tit (NT).

Åsa Gustafsson counts the Goodyera repens. Photo: Michael Lander

Goodyera repens in the entire logging notification

Michael Lander from the forest group says: “I am going to contact the County Administrative Board and the Forestry Agency about the abundant occurrence of Goodyera repens. I will also have a meeting in the forest with the logging company Häradsskog this week. It will be difficult to completely clear-cut the forest now because we have found Goodyera repens in so many locations”.

One of the small lakes in the threatened forest. Photo: Michael Lander

Three springs are affected by deforestation

From the moist part of the forest, water flows down through the forest and near the areas which is to be clear-cut in a lower part of the forest, there are three springs. One of these is a trinity spring and another is lined with stones. The water tastes good, but the springs will certainly be affected by the logging. This is because the small lakes in the forest further up are at risk of drying up when Strängnäs Stift has cut down the trees. In the surroundings, there are plenty of ancient remains and right at the felling notification there is an old hollow road.

Goodyera repens, photo: M Lander

Goodyera repens needs extra consideration

The orchid Goodyera repens is red-listed as vulnerable (VU) and included in the Species Protection Ordinance. It cannot withstand logging. Even quite small changes such as altered light and humidity conditions, for example as a result of thinning out trees, can lead to the disappearance of the Goodyera repens and more light-demanding and fast-growing species will take over. There is scientific consensus that each plant needs an unaffected protection zone with a radius of 50 meters (0.78 hectares) around it. Something that Häradsskog has promised to follow. But the best thing would be to leave the whole forest alone.

In Artfakta it appears that ” Goodyera repens should be excluded from modern forestry, something that would benefit other “old-growth forest species” including lichens, mosses and fungi worth protecting. For rich occurrences of the species, forming nature-reserves or biotope protection are appropriate measures to protect it.”

The wood-living fungi Skeletocutis odora (VU), does not tolerate felling. Photo Michael Lander

Red-listed wood-living fungi, the willow tit (NT) and the black woodpecker (NT) do not tolerate logging

NT= Near Threatened, VU= Vulnerable

The wood-living fungi Skeletocutis odora (VU): According to SLU’s Artfakta (The Swedish Species Information Centre), premises where the fungus is found in, for example, southern Svealand should be completely excluded from forestry. Artfakta also writes that all forest management measures on or in the immediate vicinity of the premises have a negative impact on the survival of the species.

The wood-living fungi Postia guttulata (NT): According to SLU’s Artfakta, forest stands where Postia guttulata are found should be left for free development. “In order to maintain the species in the country in the long term, it is required that more areas with old coniferous forest be protected in Götaland and Svealand”.

Willow tit Poecile montanus (NT): There are several studies that show that the willow tit is sensitive to thinning of trees and does not survive when its habitat is cleared. The territories are large, 10–20 hectares, and therefore the bird does not thrive when forest machines fragment the forest. The willow tit stays in its territory all year round and should be protected according to the Species Protection Ordinance §4.

Black woodpecker Dryocopus martius (NT) is a woodpecker that is red-listed as near threatened and protected according to the Species Protection Ordinance §4. Forestry is the biggest threat, with loggings and homogeneous young forests, according to SLU’s Artfakta. There are also not enough suitable nesting trees for the black woodpecker, e.g. old rough pines. Dying trees, such as old dying aspens, are important foraging sites.

The threatened forest belonging to Strängnäs Stift. Photo: Michael Lander

Read about more about Swedish forests with high conservation values which are planned to be clear-cut: SCA plans to clear-cut 200 hectares of forest with high conservation values

Forest in Risveden planned for logging,

Unprotected forest on the island of Ornö is being felled