Down with all those pine forests!?
Scots pine is one of our few native conifer species. In the past, it was often planted in monoculture. Some call these homogeneously planted pine forests an ecological disaster. That said, Scots pine is present to a significant extent in about half of Flemish forests. The species is also one of the few that grows well on the poor sites of the Kempen region, among others. It also has an associated biodiversity (fungi and beetles) that outperforms other native broad-leaved trees such as common hornbeam, lime, ash or elm and is also economically well positioned.
When then INBO observes scattered weakening and mortality of Scots pine, alarm bells start ringing. Significant mortality of this species can have significant implications for forest climate, water resources, carbon sequestration, site management, forest rejuvenation and so on.
The decline of Scots pine is (largely) climate-driven: prolonged drought and increases in precipitation and temperature extremes weaken pines. Both phenomena are also partly responsible for the appearance of new disease states.
Since April 2024, a project has been running to better map these problems in Flanders, as well as elsewhere in Western Europe. Over the next two years, INBO will map the evolution of the health status of Scots pines across Flanders using, among other things, drill core analyses (dendrochronology). In doing so, we will try to establish the link with diseases and site and climate variables. In this way, we hope to provide forest managers in Flanders with well-founded management advice.
Andries Saerens, Arthur De Haeck
(photo INBO)