Spegeldammen
Encyclopedia
Spegeldammen is a small lake
at Norra Djurgården in north-eastern central Stockholm
, Sweden
. It is one of six lakes in Djurgården, the others being Lillsjön
, Uggleviken
, Isbladskärret
, Laduviken, and Lappkärret
.
Located in the national city park
Ekoparken
, Spegeldammen is considered of great recreational value and forms part of a proposed nature reserve. It was created in the early 1980s after a shooting range here was closed and is today leased by an angling club for catch-and-release fishery.
s with oaks in the patches of forest. During most of the 20th century, the area found use as a shooting range, and as a waterlogged marsh where excavated earth and other material was dumped. The range was discontinued in 1978 and shortly thereafter sediments from the nearby Laduviken and other excavated material was disposed within the present catchment area of Spegeldammen, and the lake was created in connection with the housing of the deposits. Today a small pavilion is sitting on the eastern shore of the lake and sheep are grazing the area during summers.
and nitrogen
, but sediments contain considerable levels of lead
, zinc
, cadmium
, and copper
. Present activities in and around the lake causes insignificant damage, but historical usage still affects the lake through drainpipes. The lake was drained in 2001 and specimen of water leaking out of the lake bed showed considerable levels of phosphorus
phosphate
and ammonium
nitrogen
, while levels of nutrient
s, zinc and copper were low. Specimen of the outflow in 1998, however, showed increased levels of copper, zinc, and to some extent of cadmium, and land specimen in the abandoned embankments of the shooting range showed they contained levels of lead exceeding officially sanctioned levels.
s, mostly Rigid Hornwort
, have spread and now covers the lake bed. Along the shores are dense stands of Common Reed
, Lesser Bulrush
, Common Bulrush
, and Unbranched Bur-reed
.
The shores are dominated by various species of Oligochaeta
, Gasteropods, and Odonata
s. Superficial sediments are dominated by Oligochaeta and non-biting midges
while deeper layers contain the freshwater crustacean
Asellus aquaticus and larvae of Mayflies
and Odonatas. Gyraulus crista
and Hippeutis complanatus
are unusual freshwater snails present in the lake. The most common dragonfly is Emerald Damselfly, but Azure Damselfly
, Variable Damselfly
, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly
, Downy Emerald
, and Red-eyed Damselfly
are also present. In Stockholm, Aeshna osiliensis
is unique to Norra Djurgården, while Large White-faced Darter
is protected by the EU
.
Spegeldammen is an important breeding ground for several species of amphibian
s, including Smooth Newt
, Great Crested Newt
, Common Frog
, and Common Toad
, and several ponds have been created solely for promoting the precondition for breeding amphibians. Grass Snake
is also found both in the lake and in the surrounding area.
Crucian carp
is naturally present in the lake, while Trout
and Rainbow trout
have been introduced for angling. Notwithstanding the limited scale of the lake a large number of birds are regularly found here, including Little Grebe
, Little Ringed Plover
, and Common Moorhen
. Additionally, the area is one of the best locales for bat
s in Stockholm.
.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
at Norra Djurgården in north-eastern central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is one of six lakes in Djurgården, the others being Lillsjön
Lillsjön, Djurgården
Lillsjön is a small, former lake at Norra Djurgården, a rural area in north-eastern central Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the national city park Ekoparken...
, Uggleviken
Uggleviken
Uggleviken is a former bay and lake at Norra Djurgården, a rural area in north-eastern central Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the national city park Ekoparken....
, Isbladskärret
Isbladskärret
Isbladskärret is a small lake on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. The lake is much appreciated among bird-watchers, and, being part of the National park in central Stockholm, Ekoparken, also carefully monitored by several organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature...
, Laduviken, and Lappkärret
Lappkärret
Lappkärret is a small lake at Norra Djurgården in north-eastern central Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of six lakes in Djurgården, the others being: Lillsjön, Uggleviken, Isbladskärret, Laduviken, and Spegeldammen....
.
Located in the national city park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
Ekoparken
Ekoparken
The Royal National City Park is the world's first National City Park, established in 1995 in the municipalities of Stockholm, Solna and Lidingö in Sweden.1/ km²2/ Population per km²- Pictures :Some places in "The Eco Park"....
, Spegeldammen is considered of great recreational value and forms part of a proposed nature reserve. It was created in the early 1980s after a shooting range here was closed and is today leased by an angling club for catch-and-release fishery.
Catchment area
The catchment area is dominated by open meadowMeadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
s with oaks in the patches of forest. During most of the 20th century, the area found use as a shooting range, and as a waterlogged marsh where excavated earth and other material was dumped. The range was discontinued in 1978 and shortly thereafter sediments from the nearby Laduviken and other excavated material was disposed within the present catchment area of Spegeldammen, and the lake was created in connection with the housing of the deposits. Today a small pavilion is sitting on the eastern shore of the lake and sheep are grazing the area during summers.
Environmental influence
Water contains moderate levels of phosphorusPhosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
and nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, but sediments contain considerable levels of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, cadmium
Cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low...
, and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
. Present activities in and around the lake causes insignificant damage, but historical usage still affects the lake through drainpipes. The lake was drained in 2001 and specimen of water leaking out of the lake bed showed considerable levels of phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
and ammonium
Ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...
nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, while levels of nutrient
Nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
s, zinc and copper were low. Specimen of the outflow in 1998, however, showed increased levels of copper, zinc, and to some extent of cadmium, and land specimen in the abandoned embankments of the shooting range showed they contained levels of lead exceeding officially sanctioned levels.
Flora and fauna
During the 1990s, aquatic plantAquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
s, mostly Rigid Hornwort
Hornwort
Hornworts are a group of bryophytes, or non-vascular plants, comprising the division Anthocerotophyta. The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. The flattened, green plant body of a hornwort is the gametophyte plant.Hornworts may be found worldwide,...
, have spread and now covers the lake bed. Along the shores are dense stands of Common Reed
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
, Lesser Bulrush
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
, Common Bulrush
Typha latifolia
Typha latifolia is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Typha. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa...
, and Unbranched Bur-reed
Sparganium
Sparganium is a genus of flowering plants, containing about 20 species in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It was previously placed alone in the family Sparganiaceae...
.
The shores are dominated by various species of Oligochaeta
Oligochaeta
Oligochaeta is a subclass of animals in the biological phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, and this includes all of the various earthworms...
, Gasteropods, and Odonata
Odonata
Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies and damselflies . The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but the back-formation odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole...
s. Superficial sediments are dominated by Oligochaeta and non-biting midges
Chironomidae
Chironomidae are a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae...
while deeper layers contain the freshwater crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
Asellus aquaticus and larvae of Mayflies
Mayfly
Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera . They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies...
and Odonatas. Gyraulus crista
Gyraulus crista
Gyraulus crista, commonly called the Nautilus ramshorn, is a minute species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.Synonyms:* Armiger crista* Planorbis crista...
and Hippeutis complanatus
Hippeutis complanatus
Hippeutis complanatus, or the flat ram's-horn snail, is a species of minute air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails....
are unusual freshwater snails present in the lake. The most common dragonfly is Emerald Damselfly, but Azure Damselfly
Azure Damselfly
The Azure Damselfly is a species of damselfly found in most of Europe. It is notable for its distinctive black and blue colouring.-Males:...
, Variable Damselfly
Variable Damselfly
Coenagrion pulchellum, the Variable Damselfly or Variable Bluet, is a European damselfly. Despite its name, it is not the only blue damselfly prone to variable patterning....
, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly
Common Blue Damselfly
The Common Blue Damselfly or Northern Bluet is a European damselfly.The species can reach a length of 32 to 35 mm...
, Downy Emerald
Downy Emerald
The downy emerald is a species of dragonfly. It is metallic green and bronze in color, and its thorax is coated with fine hairs, hence its name. Like most other emeralds, the downy emerald has bright shiny green eyes...
, and Red-eyed Damselfly
Red-eyed Damselfly
Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae.-Appearance:The species is a small damselfly, long, predominantly black with iridescent blue markings. The male resembles blue-tailed damselflies but is distinguished by its large, spaced eyes that are a deep red...
are also present. In Stockholm, Aeshna osiliensis
Aeshna osiliensis
Aeshna osiliensis is a species of dragonfly in family Aeshnidae. It is found in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. Its natural habitats are intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and saline lakes.-References:...
is unique to Norra Djurgården, while Large White-faced Darter
Large White-faced Darter
The Large White-faced Darter or Yellow-Spotted Whiteface is a small dragonfly belonging to the genus Leucorrhinia in the family Libellulidae....
is protected by the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Spegeldammen is an important breeding ground for several species of amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, including Smooth Newt
Smooth Newt
The Smooth Newt, also known as the Common Newt, Lissotriton vulgaris is the most common newt species of the Lissotriton genus of amphibians. L...
, Great Crested Newt
Great Crested Newt
The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
, Common Frog
Common Frog
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
, and Common Toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
, and several ponds have been created solely for promoting the precondition for breeding amphibians. Grass Snake
Grass Snake
The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...
is also found both in the lake and in the surrounding area.
Crucian carp
Crucian carp
The crucian carp is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, or the smaller minnows. They inhabit lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers throughout Europe and Asia. The crucian is a medium-sized cyprinid, which rarely exceeds a weight of over 3.3...
is naturally present in the lake, while Trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
and Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
have been introduced for angling. Notwithstanding the limited scale of the lake a large number of birds are regularly found here, including Little Grebe
Little Grebe
The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
, Little Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...
, and Common Moorhen
Common Moorhen
The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
. Additionally, the area is one of the best locales for bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s in Stockholm.
Visiting
The lake and the national park is easily accessible by metro, bus, bicycle or by foot. The nearest metro station is UniversitetetUniversitetet
Universitetet, , is a Metro station in the Frescati area, close to Stockholm University , and the Museum of Natural History. It was opened on 12 January 1975....
.