Bark beetle slows down project

November 08, 2019

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The mass reproduction of the bark beetle in 2018 and 2019 also has consequences for the LIFE project "Patches & Corridors".

A central measure is the conversion of non-native spruce forests into native mixed deciduous forests. Since 2018 we have been contacting private owners of spruce forests in the nature reserve "Oberlauf der Rur" in order to convince them to sell their land in favour of nature conservation. So far, around 10 hectares of forest have been purchased. However, the felling and sale of the spruce wood is hardly feasible at present. The mass propagation of the bark beetle in Germany, which is unique to this extent, brings forestry to the edge of its efficiency. Forest entrepreneurs are fully booked, sawmills overcrowded and the price of wood has fallen. At present, no entrepreneur can be found who can harvest and sell the timber acquired in the project at a reasonable price. Thus the forest conversion is postponed by at least one year, probably even by two years.