Friday 23 July 2021
Baden-Wuerttemberg
Bark beetle management in the Black Forest is catching on
–
There were great concerns that bark beetles might attack the no longer managed forest in the national park. And thus also become a danger for surrounding trees. A sophisticated system is supposed to prevent this – and it finds imitators.
Baiersbronn (dpa / lsw) – The bark beetle management in the Black Forest National Park, which is primarily intended to protect adjacent commercial forests from the pest, is gaining ground, according to the government. “The process has been so widely accepted that the state forest administration / forest BW uses it in its basic features in a somewhat extensive form across the entire state,” said a response from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment to an application by Klaus, member of the FDP state parliament Higher.
With binoculars, for example, experts can see whether sawdust, which is created when the animal is bored into the tree, has trickled into the bark. They also check whether holes made by the woodpecker pecking at the pests can be seen below the treetop. If this is the case, the tree is marked, felled and taken away by GPS. ForstBW, the city of Baden-Baden and the national park are responsible.
“A key component here is the digitized recording, implementation and control of the logistics chain,” explained the ministry, emphasizing the professionalism of the system, which is unique in Baden-Württemberg. “Another pillar of this successful process is the timely securing of work capacities in order to be able to process infected wood quickly and effectively.” It is also crucial that the wood is marketed or preserved quickly in order to prevent the beetles from escaping.
Before the opening of the national park in 2014, there were great concerns that the animals could attack the then no longer managed forest and move from there to trees that are used economically. A 500 meter wide buffer zone should prevent this.
The ministry believes that the legally defined strip fulfills its purpose. In the past three years, the beetle population has increased continuously due to warm weather and little rain. It has been shown that “the buffer strip fulfills its bark beetle protection function under these extreme conditions”.
In the event of an impending mass increase, so-called curative interventions should also be considered in order to gain time to improve the function of the buffer strip. In addition, the bark beetle management is currently being revised in order to better take into account new nature conservation-related aspects.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210723-99-486865 / 3
– .
