|
|
|
 |
The endless forests
Sweden is a country of forests, but it has not always been this way. Land was previously burnt off at regular intervals to improve grazing for cows and sheep. In the mid-1800s there was a shortage of forest in large parts of the country. When landowners realized the value of forests, however, they initiated a wave of new planting. Today more than half of Sweden's surface area is covered by forest. The vast Swedish forests begin in the south, where light deciduous forests dominate the scene. But as far south as Smoland the darker, dourer coniferous forest takes over almost completely. The northern half of Sweden is completely dominated by coniferous forests with pine and fir as the commonest species. Birch is the commonest deciduous tree, and has become something of a symbol for the Swedish deciduous forest. In the far north and in the mountains, the dominant species are the ground-hugging mountain and dwarf birches.
The forest forms the hub of Swedish society. It gives work to hundreds of thousands of people, and brings in more export earnings than any other branch of industry. Forestry in Sweden, as in other countries, has had a great impact on plant and animal life, but Swedish landowners are nowadays considered to have a leading position internationally when it comes to showing consideration to nature in their use of the resource. But not even ecologically oriented forestry will be enough to protect a number of threatened species. Many lichens, fungi, mosses and insects, providing food for birds and mammals, need for their survival to have access to the dead wood of big, old trees that lie where they fall and rot in the forest. In order to preserve the biodiversity of the forest, therefore, more areas than at present must be completely protected against forestry.
The forests have always provided nourishment for the Swedish imagination and its popular beliefs. There are still people, even today, who believe that gnomes live under tree stumps and trolls live in the mountains. Some people claim to have seen the elves dancing over bogs. The evil Spirit of the Water-Nacken-will sit in the forest rapids and play his fiddle with such alluring passion that young girls are enticed into the rushing waters. You'd better beware of the wood nymph, too, who will put a spell on young men who get too close. She is beautiful beyond compare, but her back is quite hollow ...
|
|
