Björshus

Björshus Nature Reserve

Björshus is a nature reserve under development. And the prospects are good – for flowering sandy slopes and the unique sand steppe. The open areas are flanked by broadleaved woodland and lush wet woodland where a tributary of the River Julebodaån meanders through.

In the 1800s the rolling sandy heaths were much more extensive in the landscape. The area was a grazed pasture interspersed with temporary fields here and there. In the 1900s pine was planted and woodland began to regain ground in places after the landscape had been farmed and open for hundreds of years. But now the grassland and the flower-rich sand steppe will once again gain ground. The pines have given way to heather, herbs and grasses. In the western parts, the woodland will be allowed to develop with oak, beech and wild cherry with a varied age structure.

There are patches of sand steppe here, an unusual vegetation type that is only found in Eastern Skåne and Öland. The basis for this is dry sandy ground rich in chalk, and where the ground is disturbed from time to time, so that new chalk comes up to the surface. It used to be the plough and the cows that created the disturbance – now it is done with diggers. Follow this exciting development and see when breckland thyme and Antherum liliago regain ground at Björshus.

Regulations for Björshus visitors

Within Björshus Nature Reserve it is forbidden to:

• remove, dig, bore, paint or in any other way damage the ground, stones or natural objects,
• camp or park caravans, campers or similar overnight
• light fires,
• during the period 1 April to 30 November ride or lead horses
• cycle other than on roads
• bring dogs or other pets unless on a physical leash
• pick, dig up or in any other way damage plants, mosses, lichens and wood-living fungi
• park outside designated parking areas
• introduce or release species alien to the reserve

Furthermore, without written permission from the County Administrative Board, it is forbidden to:

• hold or organise competitions or similar events,
• catch insects, spiders, gastropods or other invertebrate animals other than by netting, hand picking or other selective method which does not destroy their habitat, with subsequent reintroduction within the nature reserve. The requirement for reintroduction does not apply to individual voucher specimens of species which are difficult to identify, on condition that the record is logged in the reporting system Artportalen, or an equivalent national database for threatened species, and that the collection is not contrary to the species protection regulations,