Hardwood forests

The hard wood forests have an interesting population of trees with great variations when it comes to color, structure and properties of the wood.

There are populations of single species, mainly beech and ash and sometimes oak, but hard wood forests are mostly mixed forests. Swedish hardwoods are elm, ash, hornbeam, beech, oak, lime tree and chestnut. In mixed forests there are also cherry, bird cherry, apple tree,   sallow, birch, hazel and others.

The hard wood trees all immigrated from the south. Ash arrived first, then probably oak, lime tree and hornbeam, followed by beech. During the last warm period, 5000 years ago, there were hard wood forests in most parts of Sweden. Human interference and changes in climate have given the hardwood trees an entirely different distribution. Hard wood forests today belong to the south of the country. Beech grows mainly in Skåne, Blekinge and Halland, oak in all of Götaland and in eastern Svealand.

The wood is used for small crafts, furniture and joinery.