IPS INFESTATION – A GLOBAL PROBLEM FOR CONIFEROUS IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
SIMONA ANDREI 1*, IRINA-LOREDANA IFRIM 2* 1. “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacau, Doctoral School in Environmental Engineering, 157 Marasesti Str., 600115- Bacau, Romania
2. “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacau, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, 157 Marasesti Str., 600115- Bacau, Romania
*Corresponding author: simonaa_andrei@yahoo.com, irinaifrim@ub.ro
Bark beetle infestation (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) is a relevant issue for forestry sector at global scale. In Europe, the average wood lost because infestations was approximately 2.9 million m3/year in the last half of the twentieth century. In present, at a global scale, insects affect 30 million hectares of forest annually. The intensity of the bark beetle attack increases in temperate forests worldwide, in Europe, Asia, in southern parts of North America and in the north of the continent. In Alaska, during the period 1990-2000, spruce mortality was spread over an area of 1,19 million hectares. From 1990 to 2000, in Tatra Mountains, in Poland and Slovak Republic (Central Europe), more than 118,000 m3 of trees were damaged by Ips typographus infestation. Although it is the most important agent of tree mortality, bark beetle is considered a secondary pest because it has favorable conditions for development only in damaged trees. Climate warming and drought conditions have led to an unprecedented intensity of infestation. The spatial and temporal dynamics of bark beetle population outbreaks varies according to host species and insect aggressiveness. In this study, 112 articles were analyzed to discover the conditions favoring outbreaks and the severity of damage caused by bark beetle infestations.
