On the afternoon of Friday 11th November, the UNIMONT Campus of the University of Milan hosted around two hundred participants in person and online who listened to lecturers and experts on the topic of the European spruce bark beetle in the Alps and Valle Camonica with interest.
On the afternoon of Friday 11th November, the UNIMONT Campus of the University of Milan hosted around two hundred participants in person and online who listened to lecturers and experts on the topic of the European spruce bark beetle in the Alps and Valle Camonica with interest.
The conference, organized in collaboration with the Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica, was opened by the institutional greetings of Professor Anna Giorgi, head of the UNIMONT Centre of the University of Milan, who emphasized the importance of the seminar not only to provide an overview of the current situation, but also to identify good practices for the immediate future.
Afterwards, Professor Giorgio Vacchiano (University of Milan) dealt with the theme of silvicultural prevention, analyzing the impact of the European spruce bark beetle on forest ecosystem services, while Professor Massimo Faccoli (University of Padua) presented predisposing factors and the monitoring activities that must be set up in order to prevent the spread of the bark beetle in the Alps.
Subsequent speakers informed participants in detail regarding the situation linked to the bark beetle in Lombardy and in Valle Camonica. In fact, Doctors Marco Bazzoli, Enea Inverardi and Roberto Tonetti (Lombardy Region) presented the monitoring and emergency management campaigns implemented in Lombardy, Alessandro Ducoli (Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica) focused on the results of the monitoring carried out in Valle Camonica between 2020 and 2022 and on the campaigns planned for the future, while Mario Tevini, technical director of the Consorzio Forestale Alta Valle Camonica, highlighted the operational difficulties in cutting down trees and seeking markets for the timber.
Finally, after the contribution of Researcher Luca Giupponi (UNIMONT Centre of the University of Milan), who questioned the future of the plant communities in the areas affected by the bark beetle, Walter Belotti, President of the White War Museum, presented some photographic evidence relating to the damage caused by the bark beetle in the mountains of the Alta Valle Camonica.
The conference ended with a general discussion and sharing of ideas on the intervention necessary to counteract the effects of the bark beetle in the area.
On Saturday 12th November, during the Press Tour in the morning, Riccardo Mariotti, Technical Director of the Consorzio Forestale Due Parchi, explained the damage caused by the bark beetle in Val D’Avio in Temù (BS) to journalists and operators.