Relationship between the occurrence of bark beetle and root rot outbreaks with forestry and taxation parameters of spruce stands

Based on the results of a survey of spruce forests in Belarus during 2010–2023, provides data on the area of foci and the incidence of the main pathological factors in spruce forests – bark beetles and root rot. It is noted that the incidence of bark beetle drying increases when moving from the north to the south of the Republic, and root rot – in the opposite direction. Since the 1980s, the epicenter of root rot epiphytosis in spruce forests has moved from the spruce-hornbeam oak grove subzone to the oak-dark coniferous forest subzone.

Based on the results of a survey of 7 forestry enterprises in the northwest of the Republic, which was conducted in 2023, using mathematical-statistical methods of analysis, it was found that such forestry and taxation parameters of stands as the average age of the stand, the proportion of spruce in the stand and the indicator of the potential productivity of the stand (bonitet) affect the occurrence of bark beetle and root rot outbreaks in spruce forests. The occurrence of these pathologies increases with the age of the stand, the proportion of spruce in the stand and its productivity. Possible reasons for the influence of forestry factors on the development of bark beetle and root rot outbreaks in stands are described. From a practical point of view, to increase the sustainability of forests, it is advisable to use such forestry techniques as: regulating the age of felling of stands; introducing admixtures of other species into the composition of stands; choosing areas with increased soil moisture for growing spruce forests and regulating their water regime; as well as a combination of several of the above techniques on the same site.

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