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How effective are tree traps against spruce bark beetles

During recent years, people walking through forests can often see spruce stems felled down being covered with branches, looking like forgotten. However, these felled trees are not forgotten, their stems are functional as natural traps that attract bark beetles in order to monitor or reduce the presence of bark beetles in the forest. As bark beetles are the most serious insect pests of European forests and their damage has been increasing steadily in recent decades, it can be assumed that the extent of damage is likely to continue to increase, particularly as a result of climate change.

With the aim to contribute to more effective and efficient forms of measures against the bark beetle, a certified methodical manual “Optimization of felled trap trees for bark beetles control“ (Holuša et al. 2021) was developed by an expert team composed of representatives of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Faculty of Forestry at the Technical University in Zvolen and the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University in Brno. With thanks to the members of authors‘ team, there is presented below a brief excerption of the content and focus of this methodology, bellow:

The abstract excerption:

The trap tree is felled, healthy, (most often) debranched, covered with branches, mature spruce (Picea sp.) and being used as a capture device against bark beetles. The work describes in detail this trapping method and the possibilities of its use. It is based on new knowledge that the authors‘ team has gained in projects over the last 10 years. Authors scientifically verified information, which has been only historically traded so far, especially in connection with the influence of the date of preparation on the efficiency of trap trees and the number of trap trees used on the volume of bark beetle logging. An important goal was also to clarify the influence of traps on the creation of new bark beetles’ outbreak. The work concludes with the use of tree traps for other species of spruce bark beetles.

The certified methodology „Optimization of felled trap trees for bark beetles control“ (Holuša et al. 2021) can be downloaded here.

Authors of the paper: Jaroslav Holuša, Karolina Resnerová, Roman Berčák, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague; Milan Koreň, Faculty of Forestry at the Technical University in Zvolen and Emanuel Kula, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University in Brno.

Prepared with use of abbreviated Abstract of certified methodology: Ing. Jan Řezáč, VÚLHM, v. v. i., e-mail: rezac@vulhm.cz