Pine trees continue to dry up in "Sevan National Park" SNCO. The nematode disease "conquers" new territories every day: this was mentioned the other day during a discussion led by Minister Hakob Simidyan at the Ministry of Environment. "It is necessary to understand how to solve the problem, to make a decision. Time works against us and nature," Hakob Simidyan outlined.
The meeting was attended by representatives of "Sevan" National Park, "ArmFores" SNCO, "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" NSCO, Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body, Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA, Ministry's professional units and non-governmental organizations.
According to the latest data, there are 8269 completely dry pine trees in the park. As a result of the inventory and assessment, it was found that there are around 10,000 trees going to dry.
Tigran Ghredjian, a senior researcher at Entomology and Soil Zoology Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA, noted that there is no clear method of combating these pests, as they are invasive and very flexible species. Tigran Ghredjian informed that in the near future their colleagues from the Russian Federation will visit "Sevan" National Park to collect new samples from infected foci, wood and soil and sequence them in Russia.
As an important component of solving the problem, Tigran Ghredjian emphasized the establishment of a cadastre of the spread and distribution of pests for drying pine forests.
Three types of pine grow in Armenia: Crimean, Caucasian and common. According to Ayser Ghazaryan, an expert from "Sustainable Management of Forests" Evironmental NGO, common pine is quite vulnerable and should be gradually removed, as there is also a risk of infection of plantations.
Atom Grigoryan, Dputy Director of "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, noted that they can carry out remote sensing measures to find out the picture of the drying of pine trees using satellite images.
Considering the suggestions made, Hakob Simidyan proposed to develop a plan of clear steps, to form a working group with relevant specialists, which will present proposals for solving the problem within the specified time. "Mitigating climate change and protecting forests should become our problem," he said.
Reminder: the drying of pine trees has been observed since 2017. Trees infected with the disease dry up without signs of weakening, trees fall, the connectivity of tree foliage is disturbed, turning into a sparse forest. Along with this process, the normal regrowth of pines in these centers was also disrupted.
July 07, 2023 at 12:03