The storm on July 18 caused around 50,000 m³ of damaged wood in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as forest owners told the President of the Austrian Association of Forest Owners. Similar volumes are reported in the Veneto region. As was the case in other countries, most of the damage was small-scale and scattered, with single or small groups of trees having been thrown or snapped.
Nevertheless, there is deep concern about the spread of bark beetles in both regions. “In the area around Sappada and the surrounding municipalities with their approximately 12,000 hectares of forests, there is the risk of bark beetles possibly infecting entire spruce stands in the coming years – even those which are vital and have a high volume of wood. This does not only affect the areas which have previously been damaged by storm Vaia in 2018,” Konrad explains. 414,000 hectares of the Veneto region are covered by forests. There, too, the bark beetle is the main adversary. The removal of damaged trees and transport logistics will be challenging not only in forest areas which are difficult to access.
