In Baden-Württemberg, around 1.4 million sm³ of beetle-damaged softwood were registered, as the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA) reports. This is mainly caused by spruce bark-beetles on spruce trees. Primary trigger for this development, according to the FVA, were storm damages by Burglind and Friederike at the beginning of the year that caused around 1 million sm³ of windfallen spruce wood in Baden-Württemberg alone. During the following months with exceptionally high temperatures and below-average water supply, bark-breeding spruce bark-beetles such as typographers and six-dentated bark beetles found ideal conditions to develop further generations and therefore huge populations. This is why from the end of June onwards, occurrences of stand infestation increased, and from August onwards, ever increasing beetle holes were reported, and from September, reports of beetle-infested trees saw another rapid increase throughout the whole country, as the FVA report indicates.
The experts form FVA expect a very high number of overwintering beetles and therefore anticipate massive danger for spruce trees in the upcoming spring.
