Forest near Copenhagen

Due to massive deforestation in Denmark, the country that was once covered in forests of beech trees only consisted of a mere 3% of forested area by 1800. The amount of area devoted to forests has been increasing continually since this time, due to factors which include efforts to rebuild the forests. 

Now, about 12.4-12.8% of Denmark consists of forests, and the majority of these are man-made (planted by humans) and regularly managed. This has been increased within the last decade, as the Danish Forest Act of 2004 was instituted. The main purposes of this act (and reforestation in general) are to protect the forest and to increase the total forest area, and in doing so, create sustainable forest management. By increasing the area devoted to forest, they hope to provide recreational benefits, conserve the biodiversity of the landscape, protect the environment by reducing CO2 in the atmosphere, and conserve the cultural and natural history of the forests of Denmark.

A large amount of valuable land close to Copenhagen has now been given over to forest in efforts to undo the damage done by deforestation, and one of the areas where this has been done is in the town of Skovbrynet, where we visited today. Despite pressures to develop these areas so close to the biggest urban center in Denmark, the area at Skovbrynet has been planted for these same ecological and social reasons listed above, especially as a recreational resource, with trails throughout the woods so that people may enjoy activities such as hiking and mountain biking in the woods. 

Below is an image of the Danish Greenspaces class enjoying the resource by taking a walk on one of the trails, and experiencing the natural beauty of the forest.

Even though it is a human created and maintained forest, it appears to be quite natural. In the following two images, the biodiversity can be seen in the forest; in one, there is a bog that may have naturally formed once the forest began to develop, and in the other, a variety of types of plants are shown, that have grown in as underbrush under the canopy of planted beech trees.