On January 18, 2018, winter storm Friederike hit Central Europe and caused billions in damage. Solely in Germany, 9.1 million bank meter – mainly Norway spruce (Piceaabies) – were felled within a few hours (Pöschel 2018). Subsequently, the price for roundwood dropped, and after the two dry summers 2018 and 2019 with a bark-breeding beetle disease, the market for Norway spruce roundwood in Germany and its neighboring countries collapsed. In total, 171 million bank meter calamity timber ac-cumulated on a total area of 277.000 hectares, and large amounts have not been harvested yet (BMEL 2021). Free areas for storage at the saw mills become increasingly unavailable and wet storage through permanent spraying is limited due to dryness and water scarcity. Foil storage which had been used in the 1990s for the conservation of storm-felled trees (Mahler 1992, Bues und Weber 1998, Schüler und Wurster 2000) was brought back on the agenda. Its mode of protective action is simple: Freshly felled timber is stored in an airtight foil tent. The living parenchyma cells reduce the oxygen content inside the tent and thus inhibit fungal growth and decay. The main concern about this technique is its applicability for beetle-infested and partly dead and dry timber. This study aimed at examining the potential of foil storage for conservation of Norway spruce wood, which had been infested and damaged by bark-breeding beetles to varying extent.
Keywords: bark-breeding beetles, fungal decay, storm-felled trees
Authors
Christian Brischke
University of Goettingen, Wood Biolopgy and Wood Products, Buesgenweg 4, D-37077 Goettingen
Susanne Bollmus
Marco Braun
Lukas Emmerich
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