Vråssered forest rewilding

A showcase for nature-based forestry and biodiversity

Vråssered forest rewilding

A showcase for nature-based forestry and biodiversity

About the initiative

The forest rewilding project in Vråssered, northeast of Gothenburg in southern Sweden, was designed to create a demonstration site for continuous cover forestry and close-to-nature forest management. The purpose was to show policymakers alternatives to clear-felling and to inspire local landowners by demonstrating how forests can be managed to benefit both biodiversity and climate resilience – without being clear-felled. Before restoration, the forest was dense, drained and dominated by spruce. The interventions aimed to increase diversity in tree species, structural complexity, and available habitats.

Young spruces in the understorey were thinned and piled to create so-called creotopes – small habitat features valuable to fungi, insects, and small mammals. Larger spruces were girdled to die standing, providing deadwood for insects and cavity-nesting birds. Oaks and aspens were selectively released from competition to give them more light and space. Natural water regimes were restored by filling in old drainage ditches and creating small wet features for amphibians and aquatic invertebrates. Selected broadleaved trees were intentionally damaged using veteranisation techniques to speed up deadwood formation – essential for many specialist species such as birds. Around fifty nest boxes were installed, and interpretive signs were produced to help visitors understand the restoration.

The interventions were carried out in summer 2024, jointly planned by Rewilding Sweden and ecologists from the City of Gothenburg. Fieldwork was carried out by ecological consultants from Miljöteknik i Väst. The intervention is part of a broader project funded by the Swedish Postcode Foundation, with most activities conducted in the Vindelälven–Juhttátahkka UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Västerbotten.

Funding: The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation
Collaborating organisations: City of Gothenburg



Prerequisites and rewilding approach

The challenge

The restoration area was a typical southern Swedish mixed forest, shaped by decades of even-aged management and dominated by planted Norwegian spruce. Broadleaved species such as birch, aspen, and oak were present, but many were suppressed beneath a dense canopy of spruce and competing young regeneration. With an abundance of broadleaved shrub vegetation, the forest lacked structural diversity and offered little room for trees to grow to maturity. The nearly closed canopy limited light penetration and hindered natural regeneration, resulting in a forest floor with sparse understorey cover. Additionally, historic ditching had altered the site’s natural hydrology.

These conditions significantly reduced the forest’s ecological function – limiting the availability of deadwood, open spaces, and the habitat conditions required by fungi, insects, birds, and amphibians.

The solution

In order to reinstate structural diversity and allow the development of big broadleaved trees, dense spruce stands were thinned. The material that had been cut was piled into creotopes – small habitat piles that create shelter and food for fungi, insects, and amphibians. Ring-barking of some mature spruces was done to make them develop characteristics of old trees, such as loose bark and rotting wood. The young competing trees surrounding the semi-mature broadleaves such as oak and aspen were cleared to provide them with more space and light to develop larger crowns. The old drainage ditches were dammed to rewet the area and improve the habitat for amphibians, wetland plants, and aquatic insects. To accelerate the creation of valuable habitats, chosen broadleaved trees were intentionally injured using various veteranisation methods – enabling the creation of deadwood, cavities, and rough bark that a wide range of insects and hole-nesting birds rely on.

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