4 ms·

No longterm effect, one specialized bug with good conditions and that monoculture is dead. But that will give room for other species which would have a chance t

by TomK32 7y ago

No longterm effect, one specialized bug with good conditions and that monoculture is dead. But that will give room for other species which would have a chance to root if it wasn't for the monocultures being so tightly planted

saiya-jin 7y ago
We have this back home, pine monoculture planted some 50-60 years ago to make parts of mountains more visually appealing (and probably more good reasons like cleaner air). In 2004 there was a freak storm with quite strong winds, half of that forest was destroyed, in many cases trees literally snapped in the middle of the trunk. Still pretty bad sight 25 years later. They said it was freak accident that happens every few hundred years. Well there was another one few years after, and few other smaller ones since then. Now its largely left on its own as being national park with highest protection level, but this has some (hopefully relatively short term) negative effects - population of bugs eating trees exploded and they are destroying remaining trees. Monocultures sucks, we should know better.
- psynapse 7y ago
  My guess is that you are talking about Slovakia here. My weak Slovak makes it hard for me to research facts, so I tend to rely on my wife; but I understand that unfortunately the parkland is not "left on its own". The state fells a lot of timber in the parks. They use the borers as an excuse, but cut down more than they need to control them. There's yet another sad story for forests among the negative externalities from the transition from socialism. There were and still are large areas of land divided up and owned by general public, which has a legacy today, see [1]. One opportunist where I live went and bought as many of these as he could, often cheaply off old people and made bank by letting people come and fell the forest on them. You can see it all around here - big swathes of bare earth cut through forested hills/mountains with no regard to sustainability. It really upsets me. [1] http://4liberty.eu/land-consolidation-in-slovakia-chance-for-real-reform/ http://4liberty.eu/land-consolidation-in-slovakia-chance-for...
  - saiya-jin 7y ago
    Yepp, that's the place. I actually come from the region just below the mountains, so see it anytime I go back home. Not nice at all. Yes some crooks were/are using this to cut more (healthy) trees, ie having permit for 10 but cutting down 100 trees. Then there are large parts of still standing forest which completely died out due to overpopulation of tree eating bugs (which happened due to dead wood not being removed). Most of this happening in highly protected park. Law enforcement is pretty bad back home (read - cops are often beyond useless and corrupt), with general public viewing such thievery as semi-acceptable. One of many reasons I moved out, no matter how nice the nice parts are, the bad ones are plenty and sour the whole experience.
- eecc 7y ago
  A similar event occurred in Italy: https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltempo_sul_Triveneto_del_26-30_ottobre_2018 https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltempo_sul_Triveneto_del_2... Whole swaths of forest razed, a tree monoculture planted after WWI in remembrance of the battles and the destruction fought in that quadrant of the Apls.

by TomK32 7y ago

saiya-jin 7y ago

We have this back home, pine monoculture planted some 50-60 years ago to make parts of mountains more visually appealing (and probably more good reasons like cleaner air). In 2004 there was a freak storm with quite strong winds, half of that forest was destroyed, in many cases trees literally snapped in the middle of the trunk. Still pretty bad sight 25 years later. They said it was freak accident that happens every few hundred years. Well there was another one few years after, and few other smaller ones since then. Now its largely left on its own as being national park with highest protection level, but this has some (hopefully relatively short term) negative effects - population of bugs eating trees exploded and they are destroying remaining trees. Monocultures sucks, we should know better.

psynapse 7y ago
My guess is that you are talking about Slovakia here. My weak Slovak makes it hard for me to research facts, so I tend to rely on my wife; but I understand that unfortunately the parkland is not "left on its own". The state fells a lot of timber in the parks. They use the borers as an excuse, but cut down more than they need to control them. There's yet another sad story for forests among the negative externalities from the transition from socialism. There were and still are large areas of land divided up and owned by general public, which has a legacy today, see [1]. One opportunist where I live went and bought as many of these as he could, often cheaply off old people and made bank by letting people come and fell the forest on them. You can see it all around here - big swathes of bare earth cut through forested hills/mountains with no regard to sustainability. It really upsets me. [1] http://4liberty.eu/land-consolidation-in-slovakia-chance-for-real-reform/ http://4liberty.eu/land-consolidation-in-slovakia-chance-for...
- saiya-jin 7y ago
  Yepp, that's the place. I actually come from the region just below the mountains, so see it anytime I go back home. Not nice at all. Yes some crooks were/are using this to cut more (healthy) trees, ie having permit for 10 but cutting down 100 trees. Then there are large parts of still standing forest which completely died out due to overpopulation of tree eating bugs (which happened due to dead wood not being removed). Most of this happening in highly protected park. Law enforcement is pretty bad back home (read - cops are often beyond useless and corrupt), with general public viewing such thievery as semi-acceptable. One of many reasons I moved out, no matter how nice the nice parts are, the bad ones are plenty and sour the whole experience.
eecc 7y ago
A similar event occurred in Italy: https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltempo_sul_Triveneto_del_26-30_ottobre_2018 https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltempo_sul_Triveneto_del_2... Whole swaths of forest razed, a tree monoculture planted after WWI in remembrance of the battles and the destruction fought in that quadrant of the Apls.