Intensity of forest management and bark beetles in non‐epidemic conditions: a comparison between Finnish and Russian Karelia

Abstract

Abstract: The population levels of bark beetles in non‐epidemic conditions were compared between intensively managed forests in Finnish Karelia and extensively managed forests in Russian Karelia. Thirty randomly chosen sample plots with five window flight traps in each were established in both countries. The numbers of species and individuals of bark beetles did not differ between the countries. This indicates that extensive forest management has not increased the general level of bark beetle populations. Species assemblages were, however, different between the countries and between the forest site types. Hylastes brunneus and Pityogenes bidentatus, which are common in stumps or in logging residue of Scots pine, were more abundant in Finland. Crypturgus subcribrosus, Polygraphus punctifrons, and Hylurgops glabratus, which prefer dead spruce trees in shady conditions, and Trypodendron signatum, which live in dead deciduous trees, were more common in Russia. Bark beetles were most abundant in old mesic forests. The amount of decaying wood on the ground did not correlate with the numbers of bark beetles caught.