The Boreal Forest

The ice sheet of the Weichselian glaciation melted approximately 10 000 years ago. The species of plants, animals and organisms that presently comprises nature in northern Sweden then slowly established new eco-systems. 

The boreal forest belt has established itself across the taiga of the northern hemisphere, covering substantial parts of Canada, Siberia and Scandinavia. The main tree species of these forests are spruce and pine, but aspen, birch and sallow are also present. Boreal forests dominate the Swedish landscape north of the Dal River (Dalälven in Swedish).

Approximately 6 percent of the boreal forest belt, in total, is located in Scandinavia compared to more than 50 percent in Russia. The boreal forest belt makes up approximately 14 percent of the vegetation-covered world and is the world’s largest land biome. Approximately 38 percent of the total woodland of the world consists of boreal forests.

In Scandinavia, almost all woodlands are affected by humans and the development towards an increasingly industrialised forestry during the last centuries. In a biological sense, old-growth forests and natural forests exist mainly in nature reserves and other protected areas.