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Climate change Ecosystem services Forest management Pests and diseases

First evidence of breeding by Ips typographus in the United Kingdom and expansion of Ips amitinus in Scandinavia, Ips duplicatus in central Europe and Ips cembrae in Great Britain and western/northern Europe suggest that factors that previously limited or moderated range expansion may be changing. This project will assess the biotic, abiotic, climatic and human-linked factors that could be driving these changes in ecology and distribution of this important group of forest pests.

Research objectives

The main objectives of the project are:
• To identify and analyse key factors determining the spread and breeding success of Ips bark beetles
• To investigate historic and ongoing changes in forest structure to assess beetle success in establishment and population expansion
• To investigate the potential role of climate change as a co-factor in enabling the beetles to gain a foothold in new locations that were previously considered to be climatically limiting
• To consolidate the range of factors into a risk matrix that is geographically linked to previous and new ranges of bark beetles in the genus Ips

Latest updates

The ECLIPSE project will meet at ULB, Brussels in November 2022 to discuss the findings of literature review and field observations and experiments. A consolidated review paper will be drafted and, following a presentation at the Forest Protection Colloquium in Vienna in March 2023, the project members will finalise the review process and plan field assessments for 2023.

Our Involvement

FR leads this Euphresco project which involves partners from Belgium, Ireland (Republic and Northern Ireland), Norway, Slovak Republic and Sweden. The UK funding is provided by Defra.

Funding & partners
  • Forest Research (FR): Lead partner
  • Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
  • Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
  • National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute (NLCSK)
  • Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
  • Maynooth University (MU)
  • Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
  • Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland (AFBINI)
  • Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
Authors
Forestry Staff Hugh Evans Colorado cropped.2e16d0ba.fill 600x600 1
Hugh Evans

Research Fellow

Themes
Climate change, Ecosystem services, Forest management, Pests and diseases