Old pine forest by Lake Rogen. Photo: Marcus Elmerstad.

Pine forest and old pines

Windblown old pines and small saplings stand between enormous boulders. You can really feel their fight to survive. It’s not easy to subsist in the poor, stony moraine soil. Not even for a hardy pine. Sudden frosts, which can occur at almost any time during the short summer, are a threat to the young trees.

The harsh climate, fires, and timber clearances in the past, have shaped these strangely sparse forests. Sometimes you may wonder whether you really are in a forest, since the trees are so far apart.

An important symbol

It’s not a coincidence that Gränslandet’s symbol is an old windblown pine. You’ll soon see them when you enter the area, but in the rest of Scandinavia these pines are rare.

These pines have become hardy. They grow slowly and become impregnated with resin, until almost nothing can harm them. Several pines in Gränslandet are more than 700 years old.

The old pines grow strong, flat crowns, which can carry heavy birds’ nests. A golden eagle nest can actually weigh more than one ton – not many pines can manage that. Both golden eagle and osprey like building nests in the old pines in Gränslandet.

Golden eagle does not warn...

... when you are too close. It just glides silently from the nest and flies away. Look carefully to see if there is a nest in the pine. If so, you must walk away without disturbing.

Osprey, falcon and buzzard...

... usually have loud and clear warning calls. You will easily understand that you are too close to a nest, which is not necessarily in a pine.