Storms, temperature maxima and the Eurasian spruce bark beetle Ips typographus—An infernal trio in Norway spruce forests of the Central European High Tatra Mountains

Abstract

Norway spruce forests (Picea abies Karst.) of the Carpathian High Tatra Mountains have been subject to unprecedented tree mortality caused by attacks of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus L.) in recent decades. The outbreaks were preceded and accompanied by wind throw events and periods of increased seasonal temperature.We obtained climatic data and data on tree mortality due to storm throw and bark beetles by using a combination of direct dead tree inventory and remote sensing techniques, and examined annual tree loss change over a 26-year period in a forest district of the Slovak High Tatra National Park. In particular, we found that the combination of the previous year’s maximum daily temperature sum, tree mortality caused by wind, and bark beetle-caused tree mortality best explained the annual tree loss change in nonlinear regression models. The number of trees infested by bark beetles clearly increased with maximum air temperature sums ranging from 2850 to 3150° days, but declined below or above this thermal optimum. Annual tree mortality clearly increased subsequent to years associated with seasonal temperature sums allowing for the development of sister broods. Given consistently favourable future climatic conditions for development of I. typographus populations in the study area, a possible shift from the now predominantly uni-voltine to multi-voltine bark beetle populations might increase attack pressure also at high elevation sites.