Spruce bark beetle infestations have been very high in recent years, especially in forests in southern Sweden. Many nature reserves have also been affected.
New statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency show that more than 5 million cubic metres of spruce have been killed this year alone and that over 32 million cubic metres of spruce have been killed since 2018. The Swedish Forest Agency calls it "a natural disaster in slow motion".
As for the protected areas that have been affected, the greatest difficulties today in dealing with spruce bark beetle are in Östergötland, Södermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala and Västmanland. In Dalarna and Gävleborg counties, infestations are increasing, but the county administrative boards say that the problems are still small. In large parts of Götaland, the problems are instead decreasing.
In a new report to the Government, the county administrative boards concerned have reported on the measures taken for protected nature in 2022. The summary shows that it is important to both prevent and directly deal with infestations when they are detected. Various tools are also required to find and combat the spruce bark beetle, such as digital technology and remote sensing, but also the use of dogs, drones and helicopters.
Martin Sjödahl at Kronoberg County Administrative Board, which coordinates the county administrative boards' reporting to the government, says in a comment that the problem is big, but that the authorities now have much better knowledge of the area than before.
"There are now staff in all the relevant county administrative boards who can 'think like a spruce bark beetle'. Nevertheless, the large number of spruce bark beetles remains a challenge. Unfortunately, in 2022 it has become more and more common that natural values are lost due to the extensive infestation."
