A mosaic of marshes
Farum Sortemose is located west of Farum Soe and consists of a varied mosaic of different marsh types. The lower part of Hestetangs Aa runs through the marsh. North- and westwards are calcareous alkaline fens with western marsh orchid, blunt-flowered rush, Carex cespitosa and the (in Denmark) very rare dwarf marsh violet. In the center of the marsh you can find parties of ash-alder swamp and large expanses overgrowing in common reed and willow scrub. The southern part is lime-deficient and sundew, blueberries, common heather, cotton-grass and peat moss grow here. The numerous flooded peat bogs indicate that peat have been cut throughout the years and as late as during the Second World War.
Pictures of the marsh from around 1900 show a completely open landscape without tree growth. Botanical notations are found dating back to the 1870s, when Sortemose was habitat to an array of rare plant species and botanists would flock to the area. Most of the species are now considered fully extinct in Denmark, only the dwarf marsh violet is still found as a single population in the calcareous part of the marsh.
When the agriculture became modernized
The state of nature in the river valley is a consequence of the agricultural development towards modern production methods and resources. Concurrently with the industrialization, the invention of artificial fertilizer and the entry of the tractor the hay-lands lost their relevance for the farmers. The animals were not put on grass in the same extend, and the laborious work of harvesting and gathering the hay, drying it and bringing in the harvest could be spared. Unfortunately the lack of management meant that several of the meadows overgrew with willow scrub and tall herbs and the ditches were not maintained resulting in some areas becoming too swampy and wet.
This is the landscape of Oevre Moelle Aadal today. In a few places along the stream some sort of management have been maintained, mainly in the form of grazing animals, however the vast majority of the river valley grounds are overgrown in willow, alder and common reed. The aim of our project is to restore the best preserved alkaline fens and petrifying springs along the stream system, so that orchids, globeflowers and sedges again can bloom in the valley.
There are no active farmlands in the project area, but several of the areas are currently used for hunting or as recreational areas. There is a system of paths along the entire Hestetangs Aa, all the way from Buresoe to Furesoe, which makes it easy to go out and experience the area.
Willow and reed out, grazing animals in
The small meadow flowers cannot grow in the shadow of scrub and reed; hence our priority effort is clearing and fencing for the grazing animals. Before we start the chain saws and seize the pile hammer, we need to examine where the most valuable nature is and make sure that we do not damage other natural values or habitats for species.
We want to:
- Examine where the valuable nature and the vulnerable species are found
- Examine the hydrological conditions and whether anything can or should be changed
- Clear willow, birch, alder and conifers
- Establish new grazing areas and improve the ones that are already there
- Make sure that robust cattle, that can perform the necessary grazing in the demanding area, are introduced in the valley
- Dig new waterholes as habitats for the waterhole-species
- Examine the opportunity to make new habitats for the water beetle
- Harvest hay.