The bark beetle strikes again: the spread of the bug which attacks spruce and other trees has reached such levels in the upper Hron area that the Agriculture Ministry has declared a state of emergency for the Brezno district, near Banská Bystrica. This measure gives the forestry managers tools to address the infestation, and allows the department to inform the public better. Bark beetles cause problems every year, but the worry is growing.
According to one expert, Vladimír Čaboun of the National Forestry Center in Zvolen, it is not impossible to manage.
He disagrees with the Czech climatologist Václav Cílek, who thinks that the whole of Central Europe is on the verge of a widespread lycophagous disaster that will be impossible to manage.
It’s certainly a big problem for the whole of Central Europe, and we are on the verge of a widespread calamity. But Čaboun said: forest management can help a lot. There are too many spruces and sycamores in the composition of our forests.
(TASR, lesmedium.sk)
