Low temperatures in recent days have allowed forest owners in southeastern Estonia to cut down forests damaged by the spruce beetle and damaged by wind even in swampy areas. However, just a few weeks of frost does not put a limit on the spread of the spruce bark beetle, because the pests can survive freezing temperatures in the ground.
In Võrumaa, forestry work is taking place in swampy spruce forests and in forests where the autumn storm felled many trees. Despite the sub-zero degrees, the ground under the snow is still quite soft and therefore one must constantly be prepared for the movement of large machines in the forest.
“When I went to the ledge and to the place where there was snow on the ground, the ground was actually all melted. To freeze this ground here, you have to go up to the ledge, make tracks, walk on the paths, These goals to freeze them. That’s all extra effort and expense, but otherwise you will not be able to clear this forest from this swamp,” explained Agu Palo, chief forester of the forestry department of RMK Võrumaa.
“Obviously the acorns left in the trunk of the second flight will definitely die, but those that are under the ground, as I said, the ground is not frozen under this snow, so I’m afraid that they can survive this winter will be fine live and will surprise us to new next spring,” Palo added.
According to Ivar Sibula, associate professor of dendrology and forest entomology at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the spruce bark beetle can adapt well to temperature fluctuations, wintering pests begin to be damaged by soil temperatures below -20 degrees.
“About half of the spruce bark beetles winter in the forest floor. The forest is an excellent thermal insulator, that is, if it is deeper in the forest, the air temperature can be -30 degrees or even lower, but the temperature in the ground it’s maybe only -10 degrees.” Sibul explained.
2024-01-04 19:32:00
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