We have to enjoy it as much as possible: Norway spruce. There is a fear that this tree will disappear completely from the Brabant forests. Guilty: the drought and the typesetter. A tiny beetle of a few millimeters that can eat an entire forest. A forest with spruce then.
Norway spruce needs resin to protect itself from the typesetter. But if it doesn’t rain, Norway spruce can’t make resin either. And then the beetle strikes, tens of thousands at a time. Once a tree is infected, there is nothing you can do about it. “I think we will lose them all in the long run,” says forester Erik Schram. “Certainly the large Norway spruces will become increasingly rare.”
“The forest ant and the squirrel have to find another home.”
In Leende there is still a piece of dead forest with Norway spruce. Bare branches reach far into the sky. Usually the trees are cut down, but not in this part of Leenderbos. “Insects and, for example, the woodpecker can benefit from this dead wood,” says Schram. “So a dead Norway spruce still has ecological value.”
But other animals, such as the forest ant and the squirrel, have had to find another home. Fortunately, the Leenderbos is varied and the animals can find another place. The typesetter cannot eat all the trees, deciduous forest is a lot less vulnerable to it.
“Maybe it’s not a big deal that native species are taking its place”
The typesetter leaves clear traces on the bark of the dead Norway spruces in the Leenderbos. He also owes his name to it. The beetle drills a hole in the trunk, works its way in and lays the eggs under the bark. The larvae then ‘get to work’ and make complicated passages in the wood. “The typesetter is just part of nature,” says Schram. “But the beetle does inflict considerable damage.”
Is it bad that Norway spruce is disappearing in Brabant? “It was actually planted for mining in Limburg. Wood was needed for that. But they are also trees that do not naturally belong here. You mainly find them in the Alps,” says forester Schram. “There’s a lot of water and mountain mist there. It’s a species that was brought here by humans. Maybe it’s not a big deal then that native species are taking its place.”
“A lot of new trees will be added.”
The spot in the Leenderbos is now full of light green tubes. “So these are different deciduous species that we have planted, the hornbeam for example, the chestnut or the summer linden. As many different species as possible,” says Schram. “The tubes not only let light through, but also retain the water. After about six years when the new tree has grown, they have a chance of success.” But dry summers can also be a spanner in the works here. “Then we really have to come by with the tractor to water them. But a lot of new trees will be added.”
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