Assessment of sanitary conditions in stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) damaged by spruce bud scale (Physokermes piceae Schrnk.)

doi:10.3832/ifor0703-006

Spruce bud scale (Physokermes piceae Schrnk.) affects tree growth directly and indirectly. Direct injury appears in the form of tissue damage, as insects suck sap from tree phloem. Indirect injury appears as “honeydew”, which results in negative effects on tree growth. Plant sap is saturated with various carbohydrates called photosynthates that are difficult for scaly insects to digest. Therefore it is secreted in excrements, which are subsequently a food source for the black sooty mold (Apiosporium pinophilum Fuckel). The fungus covers needles blocking stomata, causing decreased transpiration and photosynthesis. An inexplicable wither of Norway spruce was reported in Latvia during 2010 due to black sooty mold. However, spruce bud scale was not evident. In 2011, mass propagation of spruce bud scale was observed following the 2010 Norway spruce loss. One objective of this research was to determine if Kraft tree growth classes could be applied to establish the factors responsible for tree foliage damage. Six 21 - 40 year old (second age class) Norway spruce stands were evaluated. Two circular sample plots with a 7.98 m radius, and a 200-m² area were randomly established per each forest stand hectare. Diameter at breast height (dbh, 1.3 m), and height of approximately 30 trees was measured to model a trend. For all trees, Kraft class, and foliage damage level caused by spruce bud scale and black sooty mold were determined. Significant differences were not observed in tree damage levels among stands, however significant differences among damage levels in different Kraft classes were detected (F = 3.45 > F_crit. = 2.80, α = 0.05 > P = 0.02) found. Overall damage intensity was 29.3 %. Total forestry loss was 1153 LVL (1640 EUR) for all surveyed stands (10 ha), and 115 LVL (164 EUR) per hectare.

Keywords

Norway spruce, Spruce bud scale, Kraft’s classes, Damage intensity, Economical losses

Authors’ address

(1)

Latvia University of Agriculture, Forest Faculty, Jelgava (Latvia)

Corresponding author

O Miezite
olga.miezite@llu.lv

Citation

Miezite O, Okmanis M, Indriksons A, Ruba J, Polmanis K, Freimane L (2013). Assessment of sanitary conditions in stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) damaged by spruce bud scale (Physokermes piceae Schrnk.). iForest 6: 73-78. - doi: 10.3832/ifor0703-006

Academic Editor

Alberto Santini

Paper history

Received: Jul 24, 2012
Accepted: Dec 03, 2012

First online: Feb 07, 2013
Publication Date: Apr 02, 2013
Publication Time: 2.20 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Breakdown by View Type

(Waiting for server response...)

Article Usage

Total Article Views: 48925
(from publication date up to now)

Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 40953
Abstract Page Views: 2678
PDF Downloads: 3753
Citation/Reference Downloads: 17
XML Downloads: 1524

Web Metrics
Days since publication: 4088
Overall contacts: 48925
Avg. contacts per week: 83.78

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Feb 2023)

Total number of cites (since 2013): 16
Average cites per year: 1.45

(no Plumx Metrics available for this paper)

Publication Metrics

by Dimensions ^©

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

(1)

Arbez M, Birot Y, Carnus JM (2002)
Risk management and sustainable forestry. EFI Proceeding 45: 92.
Online | Gscholar

(2)

Arhipova I, Balina S (2003)
Statistic economics. Work with SPSS an Microsoft Excel. Datorzinibu centrs, Riga, pp. 352. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(3)

Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (2011)
Average purchase prices of round timber by tree species and timber types. Web Site.
Online | Gscholar

(4)

Graora D, Spasic R, Mihailovic L (2012)
Bionomy of spruce bud scale, Physokermes piceae (Schrnk.) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in the Belgrade area, Serbia. Arch. Biol. Sci. Belgrade 64 (1): 337-343. [in Serbian]
Online | Gscholar

(5)

Kaktins J, Arhipova I (2002)
The theorethical ground of risk management. LLU Raksti 6 (301): 52-63. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(6)

Kraft G (1884)
Dürchforstungen, Schlagstellungen und Lichtungshieben. Beitrage zur Lehre. Klindworth’s Verlag, Hannover, Germany. [in German]
Gscholar

(7)

Lazdins A (2010)
Evaluation of reasons of spruce damages on drained soils in SIA “Rigas mezi”. Project report. LVMI Silava, Salaspils, Latvia, pp. 56. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(8)

Lazdins A (2011)
The assessment of the reasons of large scale damage of spruce stands and the elaboration of reccomendations for the management of damaged stands in the forests of Joint Stock Company “Latvian State Forests”. Project report, LVMI “Silava”, Salaspils, Latvia, pp. 145. [in Latvian]
Online | Gscholar

(9)

Lazdins A, Miezite O, Bardule A (2011)
Characterizations of severe damages of spruce (Picea abies Karst.) stands in relation to soil properties. In: Proceedings of the “Research for rural development 2011. Annual 17th international scientific conference”. Jelgava, LUA, Latvia, pp. 22-28.
Online | Gscholar

(10)

LRMK (2006)
Regulations of the cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia Nr. 892. Regulations of the tree cutting in woodlands. [in Latvian]
Online | Gscholar

(11)

Maurina H (1987)
Plant physiology. Zvaigzne, Riga, pp. 358. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(12)

Novak B (1974)
Atlas of insect pests of forest trees. State Agricultural Publishing House, Prague, pp. 126. [In Russian]
Gscholar

(13)

Ozols G (1985)
Insects living on spruce and pine in Latvia’s forests, Zinatne, Riga, pp. 208. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(14)

Rasina B, Rupais A (1994)
Scale insects Coccodea. Latvia’s nature. Latvia’s Encyclopedia, vol. 1, Preses nams, Riga, pp. 171. [In Latvian]
Gscholar

(15)

Rupais AA (1981)
Pests of trees and shrubs in green plantations of the Latvian SSR. In: “Pests of trees and shrubs in the green areas of the Latvian SSR”. Zinatne, Riga, Latvia, pp. 264. [in Latvian]
Gscholar

(16)

Sabelis MW (1997)
World crop pests. Soft scale insects. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Gscholar

(17)

State Forest Service (2010)
Spruce bud scale insect (Physokermes piceae Schrnk.). [In Lithuanian]
Gscholar

(18)

State Forest Service (2011)
Forest statistics. Web Site. [in Latvian]
Online | Gscholar

(19)

Turguter S, Ülgenturk S (2006)
Biological aspects of Spruce Bud Scale (Physokermes piceae Schrnk. - Hemiptera: Coccidae). Tarim Bilimleri Dergisi 12, pp. 44-50. [In Turkish]
Gscholar

(20)

Vanins S (1956)
Forest plant pathology. Riga, Latvia, LVI, pp. 175-176. [In Latvian]
Gscholar