In the late 70s and early 80s, what is referred to as the “bark beetle war” ravaged Norwegian forests. Major attacks by bark beetles destroyed enormous amounts of spruce trees, and caused damage worth more than two billion kroner at the time. As much as over 20 percent of the spruce forest was killed in some places.
Extreme price increase on wood products: – Had to throw us around
As a result of the attack, bark beetle traps were set out in 1979 to keep track of the occurrence of the unwanted insects. These are emptied and the amount in them is measured several times during the spring and summer.
At worst, the traps in Vestfold and Telemark had around 25,000 beetles in them during the outbreak in the 70s. What now worries experts is that in some places the traps are at the same level and even higher than during the catastrophic years of the “bark beetle war”.
– Disturbing
– We are worried, because in our area there is an alarmingly large catch in the traps this year. It is estimated that 30,000 beetles per trap are so many that it overpowers and that they can kill fresh forest and not just weakened forest. And such a large catch has actually already been local in some of the traps in our area, says Ingrid Knotten Haugberg.
– CONCERNED: Ingrid Knotten Haugberg. Photo: The state administrator in Vestfold and Telemark
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She is a senior adviser at the State Administrator in Vestfold and Telemark, the area in Norway that according to NIBIO is most exposed to major bark beetle attacks. She says there is currently no “rush” of forest owners who have reported major attacks, but are afraid it will come, and then possibly too late.
– CATCH: This is the catch from the season’s second emptying of the beetle traps in Lardal in Larvik on 14 June. Each trap has four such traps, and the catch in the bag is from all four traps. Photo: Lars Gladhaug / Larvik municipality
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Now she comes with a crystal clear appeal to forest owners.
– They have to go out into the woods and follow, and then they have to look for attacks. If the beetles reproduce too much before they are discovered, they get the opportunity to build up the population, and thus they become even more able to attack trees.
Bark beetle (Granbark beetle)
- Has killed millions of trees in Norway, and is the most important pest that goes on spruce in Norway and Europe
- The beetles can kill healthy trees by attacking in droves, so that they overpower the trees’ defenses.
- The beetles prefer to attack weakened trees, which can be difficult to find, and thus requires a lot of the beetles’ strength.
- In the spring, the beetles come up from the forest floor and hunt for a suitable tree to attack
- When they have found a tree, they drill into the bark and make a mating chamber
- In late summer, the new generation of bark beetles emerges from the tits. It is common for them to stay under the bark until it gets cold, and for them to pull down into the forest floor. There they are waiting to fly next spring
- In Norway, the bark beetles mostly have only one «litter» a year, but in southern Europe they can have both two and three a year
Source: NIBIO
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In the fight against the insects, one should remove an infested tree before the larvae that are laid in it become beetles. This prevents the beetles from multiplying. In addition, it should be considered to cut down fresh forest near forests that have been destroyed after an attack, in order to prevent those trees from being destroyed as well.
From the time a tree is attacked until it loses its value as timber, it does not take long. I am worried that we are sitting with the decision on the seriousness of the situation this autumn, and then it is too late in terms of being careful, says Haugberg.
– Hallways: This is what the hallways of the beetles look like under the bark. Photo: Reidun Gomo / NIBIO
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On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Directorate of Agriculture, together with NIBIO, has recently prepared a professional contingency plan to be able to handle a large attack of bark beetles on forests in Norway.
– The plan suggests a number of preventive measures, but then you get to a point where there is crisis management, and then it is just a matter of limiting damage. Maybe that’s where we’re going.
– FRESH AND DAMAGED: This drone image from a forest area in Vestfold and Telemark shows fresh and damaged forest. Photo: Christer Sandum / Fritzøe Skoger
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Ask “ordinary” people to report
– Is this something ordinary hikers can notice?
– Ordinary people will be able to see it. At least in Eastern Norway, for example when driving the E18 from Oslo to Southern Norway, as many do during the day. If you look away in the slopes along the road you will see a lot of dry spruce, so visually it is visible to many. You see that there is something different.
– TRAP: Bark beetle traps are set out here, which are to be counted several times in the spring and summer. Photo: Reidun Gomo / NIBIO
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Haugberg encourages everyone who discovers bark beetles to report it to the forest owner or the municipality.
– There are always individual trees that are attacked every year, but if you come across a large area with spruce trees that have relatively poor health, where the baby needles start to turn reddish brown and the tree looks like it is thriving, then it is wise to report. We would like information about that.
In a forest area that is infested with bark beetles, you will be able to see brown flour on the bark when the beetles have just entered the tree, and if you walk next to the tree you will be able to see small holes in the bark.
– People are welcome to report when they see it, says Haugberg.
For the average Norwegian, large bark beetle attacks in Norway will show up in the prices of timber. The prices of building materials have already shot in the air as a result of increased demand in combination with major bark beetle infestations in Europe and ripple effects from a previous bark beetle infestation in Canada.
Forest owner: – We are excited
Frizøe Skoger owns large forest properties in Vestfold and Telemark, they are prepared to remove an abnormal amount of timber from the forest this year.
– It’s exciting now, because it seems that the beetle catch in the traps is starting to get so big that you see a bit of the same trend as in the late 70s and early 80s. So we are excited about whether there will be a boom in the future and when it will eventually reach a peak, says general manager Terje Kristoffersen.
– FOLLOWS: Frizøe Skoger is working hard to remove the attack and damaged forest before the timber loses its value. Photo: Christer Sandum / Frizøe Skoger
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The company has therefore increased its preparedness this summer.
– We have now rigged the operating apparatus for more timber extraction, so that we are constantly working to save the values. We must prevent the trees from dying and the value of the timber from being destroyed. We have increased the operating capacity considerably and try to get as much out of the damaged forest in the shortest possible time.
For Fritzøe Skoger, the battle against the clock is about removing trees that are attacked by bark beetles before the beetles have time to hatch a new population. The work of felling and driving away damaged spruce often has to be done quickly, so that the tree is still alive when it is cut down. If the wood dies completely, the quality of the timber can be dry spruce or biowood that cannot be used as lumber or for paper production, and which then gives a much lower sales value.
– MORE EXPOSED: Spruce forest that is planted in areas where there was no spruce before, is more exposed to bark beetle infestation, according to NIBIO. Photo: John Yngvar Larsson / NIBIO
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– Unpredictable
Senior researcher at NIBIO, Paal Krokene, says that the bark beetles, which are actually called spruce bark beetles, basically only walk on older, large spruce trees. NIBIO has developed one reports those where people can report with their mobile phones if they discover trees that have been attacked by the beetles.
The hooks are unsure of how precarious the situation in Norway is, and say that it is difficult to know before one discovers major attacks.
– If kids start playing around with these plants, then things are not going well
– It is a bit unpredictable, because if it first tips over and erupts, then it almost gets out of control. It is difficult to fight back once they get started, he says.
The more the beetles get multiplied, the stronger they become when they go together. And then they can kill stronger trees.
– You need look no further than to Scania in Sweden, what has happened there in the last three years is that the beetles have killed 50 million spruce trees, which is much more than the outbreak we had in Norway in the 70s.
Czech Republic horror example
The hooks say that spruce forest that is planted in areas where there was basically no spruce forest before, is more exposed than spruce forest that naturally belongs in an area.
– SENIOR RESEARCHER: Paal Krokene in NIBIO. Photo: NIBIO
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– In large areas in Europe, spruce has been planted in many places where it does not belong. And when you get climate change on top of that, such as drought, you get a perfect storm where trees that are not doing well in the first place are attacked.
He refers to the Czech Republic as the example of terror.
– There is almost talk of the end of spruce forestry. It’s a real disaster mood. But with us, the spruce mostly grows where it belongs.
Started with some spilled milk – now it’s a million industry
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According to Krokene, Vestfold is the area in Norway where the spruce trees are most exposed.
– The vegetation type there is with a little more deciduous trees mixed in, so the forest is a little more similar to the one in Sweden. During the attacks in the 70’s there were a lot of beetle attacks there, and it is the same areas we see that there are a lot of beetles now.
At the same time, Krokene emphasizes that there is no reason for a crisis mood in Norway right now.
– Much of the reason for the concern is that you see what the species does with damage in Sweden and Europe. It is known that it can turn everything upside down by killing millions of trees, but if you have some ice in your stomach, it does not look like that in Norway right now.
This map shows where in Norway the catch in the traps warns increased risk of bark beetle infestation.
Garden expert on the trend they now see: – Scary
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