European Spruce Bark Beetle Damage Prevention : A comparison between Central Europe and Finland
Kudrna, Pavel (2026)
2026
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202604015527
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202604015527
Tiivistelmä
The leading forest experts recognize European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) as the most damaging pest of the European forestry sector for the last few decades. This beetle is specialised in feeding on old-growth Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands and has caused immense damages to the European wood processing market. Finland’s entire standing tree stock consists of roughly 30 % Norway spruce stands, many of which are at a risk of bark beetle outbreaks. The warming climate also enables bark beetles to reproduce multiple times a year, which highly increases the risk of outbreaks even in Finland. Unless the Finnish forest management adapts to these changes, it may soon face the same large scale forest damages seen in Central Europe.
This thesis aims to shed light into the topic of European spruce bark beetle management, find out how the large-scale outbreaks have been handled in Central Europe, and which management methods would be applicable to the Finnish forestry sector and climate.
The data was collected in form of interviews with 5 forestry experts within the forestry sector (1 from Germany, 2 from Czech Republic and 2 from Finland). The interviews were conducted in semi-structured form and thematic analysis was split in two phases. Firstly, participants from Central Europe were interviewed and the most effective bark beetle prevention management practices were listed. The second set of interviews was planned based on findings from Central Europe.
The thematic analysis revealed 4 main themes: 1. Prevention management, 2. Situation monitoring and other management, 3. Future of spruce wood assortment and 4. Forest ownership and policies. In Central Europe, it was found that the most common reason for spruce stand degradation was planting spruce in improper forest sites and managing these stands as monocultures. In Finland, large-scale damages have yet to occur, but prevention measures are already being taken through mixed planting and increasing the number of deciduous trees within stands.
The damages, which Finland may face in the future, are severe. Adaptation of the forestry sector is crucial to ensure that the European spruce bark beetle damages do not cause catastrophic loses. Finland may currently be on a solid path towards a sustainable change, but more research is still needed.
Recommendations for future areas of improvement for the Finnish forestry sector include avoiding spruce planting in VT sites, increasing the amount of dead wood in all stages of decay on the forest floor, establishing mixed species stands, further research into mixed stand thinning models and providing continuous and up-to-date education for forest owners.
This thesis aims to shed light into the topic of European spruce bark beetle management, find out how the large-scale outbreaks have been handled in Central Europe, and which management methods would be applicable to the Finnish forestry sector and climate.
The data was collected in form of interviews with 5 forestry experts within the forestry sector (1 from Germany, 2 from Czech Republic and 2 from Finland). The interviews were conducted in semi-structured form and thematic analysis was split in two phases. Firstly, participants from Central Europe were interviewed and the most effective bark beetle prevention management practices were listed. The second set of interviews was planned based on findings from Central Europe.
The thematic analysis revealed 4 main themes: 1. Prevention management, 2. Situation monitoring and other management, 3. Future of spruce wood assortment and 4. Forest ownership and policies. In Central Europe, it was found that the most common reason for spruce stand degradation was planting spruce in improper forest sites and managing these stands as monocultures. In Finland, large-scale damages have yet to occur, but prevention measures are already being taken through mixed planting and increasing the number of deciduous trees within stands.
The damages, which Finland may face in the future, are severe. Adaptation of the forestry sector is crucial to ensure that the European spruce bark beetle damages do not cause catastrophic loses. Finland may currently be on a solid path towards a sustainable change, but more research is still needed.
Recommendations for future areas of improvement for the Finnish forestry sector include avoiding spruce planting in VT sites, increasing the amount of dead wood in all stages of decay on the forest floor, establishing mixed species stands, further research into mixed stand thinning models and providing continuous and up-to-date education for forest owners.