The bark beetle caused less damage to the forests of Thuringia this year than in the previous year. However, foresters are not yet in a hurry to talk about a change in the trend.
The rainy summer significantly slowed down the spread of the bark beetle among spruce trees in Thuringia. In July, the volume of wood damaged by the bark beetle in the forests of the federal land decreased to 491,000 cubic meters, the state forestry department reports. A cubic meter is a unit of measurement of a log equal to one cubic meter of solid wood.
For comparison, in July 2023, the volume of damaged wood was almost 1.2 million cubic meters, which is more than double this year's figure. Thus, the improvement recorded in June of this year continued. However, to confirm a stable change in the trend, it is necessary to wait for autumn, the management noted.
Since the beginning of the year, the bark beetle has damaged approximately 2.2 million cubic meters of wood throughout Thuringia. In the same period last year, this figure was about 3.3 million cubic meters. "This development inspires cautious optimism among foresters and forest owners," said Volker Gebhardt, head of the Thuringian Forestry Authority.
Rainy weather in recent months and a good water supply have increased the viability of drought-sensitive spruces. It also increased their resistance to pests.
Constant infection control, quick felling of infected trees and prompt removal from the forest have significantly reduced bark beetle populations, Gebhardt added. According to the administration, the bark beetle remains in the Neuhaus, Goeren and Frauenwald forestry.
In contrast to the general trend in the region, in the main infection zones, such as the Oberhof and Finsterbergen forests, the infection rate in pure spruce forests is either increasing or remaining at a high level.
