The potential impact of climate change and forest management practices on Heterobasidion spp. infection distribution in northwestern Russia – a case study in the Republic of Karelia

摘要

Heterobasidion spp. is considered as a major pathogen which causes butt and root rots and impairs the forest health. The increasing Earth’s temperature could be favourable for Heterobasidion spp . in terms of the increased duration of dispersal period. The results of the field work showed that about 35% of visually observed stumps in the southern part of Karelia are rotten, although the laboratory analysis showed that 6% from the total number of observed stumps were infected by Heterobasidion spp. Moreover, there are evident long-term trends of increased average annual temperature and number of days per year with mean temperature above +5°C in the Republic of Karelia. It has positive effects on possible distribution of the pathogen and, consequently increased damage to the wood caused by Heterobasidion spp