Natura 2000-område nr. 53 Sepstrup Sande, Vrads Sande, Velling Skov og Palsgård Skov Protected Area Landscape

The protected landscape has been gradually assembled through a series of conservation steps dating back to the mid-twentieth century. Among the earliest formal protections were the conservation order covering Kolpendal Hede in 1954 and the order covering Vrads Sande in 1968, both securing open heathland that was otherwise vulnerable to afforestation and agricultural conversion.

Conservation continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Salten Å valley, including the Bøgelund Banke and Svinsbjerg heathland areas, was designated in 1976, protecting a varied tunnel-valley landscape on the southern side of Salten Å. The Tingdalsøer area, enclosing four large Lobelia-type lakes (Rævsø, Grane Langsø, Kalgård Sø and Kongsø) along with the surrounding plantations and Kongsø Hede, was designated in 1987. A smaller conservation order also covers an area around Torup Sø.

Under the EU Habitats Directive the area was later designated as Habitat Site H49 and, in connection with important bird populations, as Bird Protection Area F34. A Natura 2000 plan was adopted in 2011, after which the municipalities of Silkeborg, Ikast-Brande and Horsens, together with the Danish Nature Agency, prepared statutory action plans for its implementation. The plan has since been renewed and developed in subsequent planning periods, and it is coordinated with the water management plans for the Randers Fjord and Ringkøbing Fjord catchments.

The terrain follows the old ice margin line that runs through central Jutland from the last glaciation. North and west of this line the surface is dominated by broad outwash plains, where sandy, relatively flat ground supports heathland and inland dune systems. East of the line the landscape rises into a strongly undulating moraine terrain, dissected by tunnel valleys that create steep slopes, basin lakes and wet hollows.

The heath-dominated sandy plains include the open, flat Kolpendal Hede in the western part of the site and the dune-and-heath complex of Sepstrup Sande and Vrads Sande, where inland dunes alternate with dry and wet heath. Southward the heathland continues through Kongsø Hede and the surroundings of the Tingdalsøer. In contrast, the eastern forest belt of Palsgård Skov and Velling Skov undulates over glacial moraine hills, while the stream valleys of Salten Å and its tributaries cut sharp wetland corridors into this hilly ground. Two larger nutrient-rich lakes, Halle Sø and Stigsholm Sø, occupy the southeastern river-valley landscape, while the southern half of the area holds numerous smaller clear-water, nutrient-poor lakes, including Hampen Sø and the protected chain of Tingdalsøer.

The site's ecological identity rests on a rare combination of open, dry inland habitats and wet, boggy nutrient-poor systems, embedded within a forested glacial matrix. The sandy plains support inland dunes with crowberry, juniper and grasses, alongside extensive dry and wet heaths that grade into wet depressions occupied by hanging quag mires and Sphagnum-dominated peatlands. These humid peatland systems include intact raised bogs, degraded raised bogs, active peat-cutting hollows, and forest-overgrown bogs, especially within Palsgård Skov.

The forest component is dominated by beech, often on acid mor soils, with notable occurrences of the uncommon beech-with-holly forest type. Velling Skov contains extensive near-natural beech stands, while smaller areas of oak-mixed forest and slender-stemmed oak scrub contribute to structural diversity. Alluvial alder-ash forests line the wet stream corridors, and conifer plantations such as Skærbæk, Snabegård and Kongsø add a managed forest element.

Wetland and aquatic habitats are equally central. The clear-water Lobelia lakes of the southern sector are calcium-poor and nutrient-poor, supporting characteristic isoetid vegetation and rare aquatic species, while Halle Sø and Stigsholm Sø in the southeast are richer and linked into the stream network. Spring-fed fens and mineral-rich flushes, particularly around Ansø Enge, anchor the northern part of the area, where a series of smaller streams rises to form Salten Å. Acidic and nutrient-rich grasslands, including species-rich acidic dry grassland, complement this pattern of habitats.

The birdlife of the embedded Bird Protection Area F34 reflects the mixture of heath, forest and water that defines the site. Breeding species of conservation interest include honey buzzard, eagle owl, nightjar, kingfisher, black woodpecker, wood lark and red-backed shrike, all of which depend on different combinations of open heath, mature woodland, standing water or scattered trees within open land.

Among mammals, the most significant species is the otter, which uses the stream systems and lake chains as continuous habitat corridors. The pond bat, a species tied to older forest with suitable tree roosts, is also recorded. In the wetland systems, the great crested newt represents the amphibian interest of the area's ponds and wet depressions. Brook lamprey inhabits the smaller watercourses that rise in the northern valleys.

In the botanical register, yellow saxifrage marks the calcareous influence in certain spring-fed habitats, while the rare moss known as blank sickle moss is among the cryptogams that justify the site's inclusion in the EU Habitats Directive. Together these species underline the area's role as a refuge for fauna and flora that have become scarce elsewhere in the intensively cultivated Danish landscape.

As a Natura 2000 site the area contributes to the EU network of protected nature areas and carries responsibilities under both the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. It is designated as Habitat Site H49 and includes Bird Protection Area F34, and several of its habitats, including inland dunes with crowberry, juniper and grass-dominant forms, species-rich acidic dry grassland, raised bogs, alluvial alder-ash forest and beech forest with holly, are listed as priority habitats in the directive.

Conservation value comes from the unusually rich habitat diversity packed into a single connected landscape. The site combines open inland dunes, heath, raised bog, spring mires, nutrient-poor Lobelia lakes and substantial near-natural beech forest, all of which are habitat types that have declined sharply in Denmark and elsewhere in northwestern Europe. The continued presence of otter, great crested newt, pond bat and yellow saxifrage adds to this conservation significance.

Management is shared between the state and the municipalities of Silkeborg, Ikast-Brande and Horsens. Roughly a quarter of the site is state-owned, and a Natura 2000 plan adopted in 2011, with subsequent renewals, sets out binding actions implemented through municipal and Danish Nature Agency action plans. The terrestrial plan is coordinated with the water management plans for the Randers Fjord and Ringkøbing Fjord catchments, reflecting the importance of hydrology for the bog, fen and lake habitats.

The site is woven into the traditional land-use fabric of central Jutland, where long-established heaths and forests have shaped local identity for centuries. Place names such as Sepstrup Sande, Vrads Sande and Kolpendal Hede reflect the historical use of these open sandy areas as commons and grazing heath, while the forest names Palsgård Skov, Velling Skov and the various plantations reflect a later phase of organized forest management, including the establishment of large conifer plantations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The abandoned Horsens-Silkeborg railway has been converted into a long-distance nature trail, the Naturstien Horsens-Silkeborg, which crosses the area and gives public access viewpoints such as the one looking out over Bøgelund Banke northeast of Vrads. Cultural heritage also touches the landscape through the network of protected conservation orders from 1954, 1968, 1976 and 1987, which were the original instruments by which Danish society decided to secure these heath, valley and lake landscapes against conversion.

The diversity of habitats packed into one continuous Natura 2000 site is itself the strongest highlight, with a rare mix of inland dunes, wet and dry heath, intact and degraded raised bogs, hanging quag mires, Lobelia lakes, spring fens and substantial near-natural beech forest within a single territory.

Among individual features, the inland dunes and heaths at Kolpendal Hede, Sepstrup Sande and Vrads Sande stand out as representatives of a once more widespread Danish sandy-plain landscape, while the protected chain of clear-water Tingdalsøer is a textbook example of the Lobelia lake type. Large stands of the beech-with-holly forest habitat give the forest sector an unusually strong identity, and the conservation orders from 1954, 1968, 1976 and 1987 trace an unusually detailed protection history.

The site reads differently through the seasons because of its strong contrast between open heath and dune landscapes, lakes and forests. Late spring and summer bring heath flowers, dragonflies on the Lobelia lakes and active birdlife across the heaths and ponds, along with the species-rich grasslands at Ansø Enge and along Salten Å. Autumn highlights include warmer tones across the beech forest and cranberry displays on the heaths, while winter can emphasize the stark dune forms around Sepstrup Sande and Vrads Sande and the openness of Kolpendal Hede, as well as quiet visits to the clear-water lakes. The Naturstien Horsens-Silkeborg, which crosses part of the area on the old railway alignment, can be walked in any season.