Abstract

1 The consumption by adult pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, of the bark of roots present in the humus layer was assessed in a field study conducted in southern Sweden during two years (1998 and 2002). The study sites were divided into two areas: (i) a shelterwood where 80-100 mature Scots pine trees per hectare remained after cutting and (ii) a clearcut where no trees were left. 2 On average, 3741 m(2) per hectare of root bark was present in the humus layer, of which 135 in 2 was not coniferous but comprised species such as bilberry and broadleaved trees. 3 The mean area debarked by pine weevils was 2.9 m(2) per hectare; 2.6 m(2) of conifer roots and 0.3 m(2) of bilberry roots. Roots of broadleaved trees were almost never consumed. No clear preferences for roots of a specific level of vitality were observed. 4 No consistent difference between the shelterwood and clearcut was found, either in the amount of root bark area available or in the extent of root feeding by pine weevil. 5 A weak negative correlation between debarked areas on roots and seedlings was found, indicating that root feeding may have reduced damage to seedlings. 6 It is concluded that conifer roots in the humus layer constitute a major food source for the pine weevil and can be utilized for a considerable period in both clearcuts and shelterwoods

Published in

Agricultural and Forest Entomology
2006, Volume: 8, number: 4, pages: 273-279
Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

SLU Authors

• Wallertz, Kristina

  • Unit for Field-based Forest Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Nordlander, Göran

  • Department of Entomology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Forest Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-9563.2006.00306.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/9171