Gulliksberget - Nature Reserve

Area: 38 hectares
Protection year: 2006
Municipality: Nordanstig
Manager: County Administrative Board
Character: Forest

Gulliksberget Nature Reserve is one of the county’s finest examples of natural pine forest shaped by fire. Here, you can imagine what a forest might have looked like in the mid-19th century, when most forests were still old-growth.

Impressive pine trees can be seen here; the thickest measures more than 75 centimeters in diameter. There are no marked trails, allowing you to roam freely through the woods. The forest and its flora offer wonderful nature experiences.

The reserve encompasses 38 hectares of natural forest situated between the hills of Gulliksberget and Lindsjöallmänningen, approximately 15 kilometers northwest of Hassela.

Fire-influenced pine forest
The forest within the reserve is one of the county’s best examples of natural pine forest shaped by fire. It is home to 350-year-old pines that bear the marks of past fires. Most of the older pines show traces of these fires in the form of fire scars on their trunks.

The forest also contains the skeletal remains of trees that perished in the most recent fire—standing dead trees. Some trees have fallen and become covered in mosses and lichens. If you look very closely—ideally with a magnifying glass—you might spot the endangered *Cladonia parasitica* (dwarf cup lichen). It is recognizable by its fruiting body, which resembles a tiny morel mushroom, standing about 2–8 millimeters tall.

Moist spruce forest
In the hollow between the hills lies a small, dense, and moist spruce forest where signs of human activity are minimal. Here, you can find spruce trees that are 300 years old—an exceptional age for a spruce. These damp areas likely escaped the most recent fire, allowing the spruce trees to survive.

Dead trees – an important food source
Many of the older spruce trees have died of old age. They now lie scattered across the ground, serving as a vital food source for numerous insects and fungi. Surveys have revealed several endangered wood-decaying fungi on these fallen dead trees.