Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The European spruce bark beetle (ESBB), Ips typographus, has killed roughly 34 million cubic meters of Norway spruce (Picea abies) in Sweden since the drought in 2018. Outbreaks of this species have led to direct impacts on timber markets, transformations of landscape structures and can alter ecosystem functioning. With increasing summer and winter temperatures in combination with changes in precipitation patterns, the risk of ESBB outbreaks will increase in the future.
Monitoring population developments during endemic and epidemic (outbreak) phases is important for damage and forest management. To reduce and prevent direct and indirect damage caused by ESBB, early detection is necessary. Despite this, there are no current comprehensive monitoring system available in Sweden. Such a system would ideally be incorporated in a framework to forecast risk of damage available in forestry practices.
The aim of this study is divided in two objectives. The first objective is to assess the available tools for early warning used in Swedish forestry practices. The second objective is to understand forest company attitudes towards the available methods and the development of an early warning system. To reach the first aim, a literature study of available monitoring tools and early warning system was used. For the second aim, interviews with forest practitioners from different forest companies in Sweden were conducted.
The results for the first aim showed that ground surveys, pheromone traps, risk maps, remote sensing are common tools to monitor ESBB population, infestations and outbreaks. The literature study also showed that there are no early warning systems for ESBB outbreaks available in Sweden.
However, researchers in Austria and Slovenia have developed early warning systems for ESBB outbreaks that are available for forest owners. The results for the second aim of this study showed that forest companies combine different monitoring tools and use their own experiences with ESBB to manage and prevent ESBB related problems. The forest practitioners’ attitudes indicate that while the introduction of an early warning system for ESBB outbreaks is perceived positively, there is some scepticism regarding its actual implementation due to certain challenges. This reflects a contradictory stance that require further investigation. However, an explicit early warning system
for ESBB infestations could help stakeholders in the forest sector to keep population densities low during endemic periods, save timber value and help forest companies with planning of resources.