The reserve consists of the larger forested islands Förarm and Risö with the surrounding part of lake Åsnen and some smaller islands. Around the farms on Förarm are deciduous forests with oak, linden, birch, maple, ash and aspen. Here you can also find clearings with hazel, fruit trees, hawthorn, oleander, rosehip and a. On the headlands of Förarm and on Risö there is a leafy mixed coniferous forest with many old pines.

The nature reserve's water areas, islands, islets, shallow bays, shorelines, reed belts and marshes are all important components for the fantastic and rich birdlife in the area. In the Åsnen area - which is of great importance as both a nesting, resting and wintering place for many bird species - you have a chance to see, among other things, sea eagles, ospreys, buzzards, larks, great grebes, bearded grebes, greylag geese, lesser woodpeckers and great loons.

Forarm - or Fårarm as it is called on modern maps - has a long history of settlement. There are even traces of a Stone Age settlement here and the name Förarm appears in written documents as early as 1545. During the last century there have been two farms on the island and a large part of Förarm has been meadow land but also used for grazing. Risö has also been used for grazing. In Åsnen, there were windmills on most islands with resident farmers, so even Förarm has boasted a windmill. During the heyday of fruit growing in the Urshult region, the island was even known for its own pear variety – Förarmsbergamott.. The last permanent residents on Förarm moved at the end of the 1960s and since then the houses have been used as holiday homes.