The Forestry Commission will this summer begin training users from across the forestry industry in a new management support system to help foresters predict and reduce damage and costs caused by large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, in upland spruce and pine plantations.

Prospective users are invited to register now for the training, and a course for private-sector foresters will be held on Monday 4^th August in Ae, Dumfries-shire, priced £80 per person.

Use of the web-based system will offer forest managers the prospect not only of significantly reducing pesticide and labour costs, but also of enhancing their prospects of achieving certification.

Hylobius is a beetle that lives in mature pine and spruce forests, where, in most cases, it does little harm. However, they are attracted to the freshly cut conifer tree stumps on harvesting sites, which provide excellent breeding habitat. When new beetles emerge from the stumps they feed on young seedlings planted on the site for the next timber crop, killing many of them.

Dr Roger Moore of Forest Research, the Commission's agency for scientific research and technical development, developed the tool. He explained,

"Until recently, pesticides, and/or leaving a harvesting site fallow for five years or more, were our only options for managing Hylobius damage on restocking sites.

"And because we foresters knew little about the size of the populations we were dealing with, we tended to adopt a 'better safe than sorry' approach and sprayed planted trees as a matter of routine in many cases. However, despite this, even after using pre-treated seedlings and top-up spraying after planting, tree losses could still exceed 50 per cent on the most heavily infested sites.

"Now, thanks to recent research findings, we know how populations behave and how to measure populations, which can vary considerably from site to site, and this helps us to predict the time and severity of attack.

"We've also developed a method of biological control using the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, which can be appropriate in some situations.

"Together, these developments have enabled us to develop a more measured and accurately targeted approach to Hylobius control, and this management support system is designed to enable users to make informed decisions which result in the most cost-effective solutions for their sites.

"The training course will help foresters develop an understanding, in a simple and straightforward way, of how Hylobius populations behave on the site and when they will leave it. Armed with this information and the new management support system, they can then devise site-specific restocking programmes. These can range from no intervention at all - such as simply waiting until after the last Hylobius have departed before replanting the site - to some pesticide use, some nematode use, or a combination of these and other factors, depending on the severity of infestation.

"We believe this system will be welcomed by the industry, because it has both financial and environmental advantages - it can significantly reduce pesticides and labour costs, and it can significantly reduce chemical use in the forest to the point where, in some cases, it can be eliminated. Forest managers who want to achieve certification can help their case by using this system, thereby showing the auditors that they are taking available steps to reduce their chemical use."

The management support system software guides the user through a decision path into which they can input a range of easily gathered information about the site. The data includes the costs of the various operations required under different management scenarios, so that the user can work up the most cost-effective restocking programme for the individual site.

It is web-based and hosted by the Forestry Commission. Access will be given to users on one of two levels - at the first level, prospective users will be talked through the process and given site and time-limited access; at the second level users who attend a training course and subscribe will be given full access to the system.

The system is most relevant to foresters managing spruce and pine forests in upland areas of Scotland, northern England and Wales. The training courses are timed to enable foresters to start using the system in August this year, before the emergence of the adult beetles on harvesting sites in the autumn.

• Requests for further information and registrations for the courses should be directed to Diane Carmichael in the Forestry Commission - by email (preferred) to diane.carmichael@forestry.gsi.gov.uk; telephone: 0131 314 6447.
• Further information about Hylobius and nematodes is available from www.forestrresearch.gov.uk/hylobiusmss and www.forestresearch.gov.uk/nematodes.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

1. Training courses for Forestry Commission staff will be held in Ae, Dumfries-shire on 29 July and Inverness on 31 July. These are also priced £80 per person.
2. The Forestry Commission has made significant cost savings since learning that Hylobius's departure from a restocking site can be predicted, and that they tend to stay away once they have left. It has saved more than £100,000 in pesticide use over three years in lowland pine forests in southern England, and £45,000 in top-up spraying costs over three years in upland forests in its Dornoch Forest District in the Far North of Scotland. This has been achieved mostly by delaying replanting until after the beetles have left the site.
3. The management support system referred to in this press release has been specifically designed for use in upland spruce and pine forests, and not in lowland situations.
4. The Forestry Commission is the government department for forestry in Great Britain, and works to improve people's lives through the many benefits that sustainably managed woods and forests can provide. It supports woodland owners with grants, tree felling licences, regulation and advice; promotes the benefits of forests and forestry; and advises Ministers in the UK Government, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government on forestry policy. It manages more than a million hectares (2.56 million acres) of national forest land owned by Ministers for multiple public benefits such as sustainable timber production, public recreation, nature conservation, and rural and community development. For further information, visit www.forestry.gov.uk.
5. Forest Research is the Commission's agency that carries out world-class scientific research and technical development relevant to forestry for a range of internal and external clients. For further information, visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk .

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Charlton Clark, Forestry Commission press office, 0131 314 6500.