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Forest Owners are Encouraged to Survey Their Spruce Stands to Restrict the Spread of the European Spruce Bark Beetle

This is the time when the spruce bark beetle begins to infest growing spruces to develop and form the next generation; therefore, every forest owner is encouraged to survey the middle-aged spruce forests on their property. In the forest areas of the parishes where an emergency has been declared for the control of the dangerous European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), the amount of valuable spruce stands managed by JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) is slightly over 50 000 ha.

The Cabinet has announced an emergency for limiting the spread of the European spruce bark beetle in certain areas during the period from 1 April to 30 June of this year.

During the emergency, forest sector specialists and scientists monitor the activity of bark beetles, and based on the data obtained, if necessary, they will decide on the application of further restrictions until the end of the active season of bark beetles, which usually lasts until September, when the bark beetle begins hibernation.

This May, the Latvian State Forestry Institute “Silava”, which monitors forest pests and diseases throughout Latvia, assessed the flying activity of bark beetles as high in almost the entire territory of the country. The level of threat to spruce stands is determined by the amount of bark beetles caught in the plots. If more than 8 000 bark beetles are caught on average per plot trap in a 30-day period, there is a high risk that nearby spruce stands may be infested.

Photo: Flying activity of the European spruce bark beetle in May 2023.

“Currently, damage caused by the European spruce bark beetle can be found in the forest almost throughout the territory of Latvia – both the damage of the second generation of bark beetles caused in 2022 and fresh damage caused in 2023. When evaluating the flying activity in May, it is still difficult to predict how the situation will develop in the remaining summer months. It should be taken into account that right now the bark beetle is starting to invade the growing fir trees in order to develop and form the next generation; therefore, we encourage every forest owner to inspect the middle-aged spruce forests on their property and assess whether any bark beetle infestations appear on the trees, which is evidenced by brown bark flour. If fresh damage by bark beetles is found in trees, it is mandatory to inform the State Forest Service, and they will assess the current situation and recommend the best solution. From the point of view of the sanitary condition of the forest, it is recommended to cut down the damaged stand in a continuous area in the shortest possible time, or while the bark beetles are in the tree trunks and have not had time to fly out. After felling trees, pheromone traps should be placed in the clearing to attract the nearby flying bark beetles,” says Edijs Leišavnieks, LVM Forest Protection and Fire Fighting Manager.

Along with the introduction of the state of emergency, valuable, undamaged spruce forests have been identified and three protection zones have been set, in which economic activity restrictions have been defined. Tree felling restrictions in the vicinity of valuable spruce stands are set so that the smell, produced by conifers as a result of felling would not attract the European spruce bark beetle and would not pose a threat to the valuable and healthy stands.

Anyone interested can see the location of the valuable spruce stands and the designated protection zones in the LVM GEO map browser https://lvmgeo.lvm.lv/ and in the LVM GEO Mobile app. The data is received on-line from the State Forest Service and is updated once a day.

The last time when a state of emergency was declared for the control of the European spruce bark beetle in the country was back in 2007/2008. That year, an emergency was declared after one of the strongest storms of 2005, when the spruce bark beetle multiplied massively in fallen and broken conifers. To limit the growing population of bark beetles, similar restrictions were adopted, which are also currently defined in the Cabinet order.