Fighting a losing battle

摘要

FORESTERS are battling to save Germany's forests, which are under threat from a number of factors, chief among them the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus). The figures are stark. Around 32 million cubic metres of wood damaged by insects hadto be removed from Germany's forests in 2019, according to the Federal Statistical Office. That total is three times higher than the 11 million cubic metres that was destroyed in 2018, and an almost six-fold increase on the 6 million cubic metres felled due to pests in 2017. Soaring temperatures and droughts have created the perfect conditions for a small insect to make a devastating impact.