NATURAL EVENTS
Bark beetles endanger spruce forests in Germany
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Bark beetle problem in Germany
Forestry officials in parts of Germany are observing an increase in bark beetle populations due to the recent unusually dry and warm weather in May and June.
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Most affected areas
Particularly affected are the areas of Saxony, Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg. Bark beetles are beetles that penetrate the bark of trees and block the necessary circulation of water and nutrients, thus devastating the forests.
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A real calamity
For the experts, this is a real calamity, which is getting worse every year since 2018. The causes would be attributed mainly to climate change.
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A double problem
The problem is made even more dramatic not only by the fact that these beetles are spreading more and more, but also by the fact that the dry and hot climate weakens the trees a lot, thus reducing their ability to repel bark beetle attacks.
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The problem for spruce-fir forests
Germany is particularly susceptible to this phenomenon because it has high concentrations of spruce forests in some regions, where numerous trees have been planted over the centuries for commercial use in the timber industry.
