As temperatures rise and snow melts, Greek fir trees are dying

The brittle reddish needles of hundreds of dying firs stand out in the dense forest surrounding Kalavryta, a village located in southwest Greece. They are a stark reminder that drought is slowly destroying nature.

It is well-known that fir trees require a cooler climate with plenty of moisture. Scientists and locals say that prolonged droughts linked to the fast-changing climate of Greece in recent years have left them vulnerable to pest infestations. In the past we would see dead trees amongst healthy trees," said Katerina Kolibrou, the head of the forest service of Kalavryta. The village is famous for its forests made up of the Greek Fir species Abies cephalonica.

The few healthy green firs that remain are spotted among the dead trees.

The fir tree becomes more susceptible to pests who bore into the bark of the tree to lay eggs or create tunnels. This disrupts their ability to transport nutrients from roots to branches.

The wood-boring insects were found by Dimitrios Avtzis a forest entomologist at the Greek Agricultural Organization Demeter (a state research agency) as he sliced into the bark of a dead tree in Kalavryta. He then placed the beetle in a vial to be examined.

They are as damaging to trees as bark beetles.

Around the world, 2024 was one of the warmest years on record. The average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial period for the first.

Kostas Lagavardos is the director of research for the National Observatory of Athens. He led a study that looked at rising temperatures and the amount of snow in the mountains of the northwestern part of Greece.

The soil would then be covered with less snow. This is another important source of moisture for the fir trees.

He estimated that the snow cover had decreased by 30-40% over the years.

The decline of fir forests is not confined to Greece. It can also be seen in the Greek mainland, as well as on the Ionian Islands. The Abies Alba species, which is a different fir found in the Pyrenees Mountains in Huesca, Spain, in the Mediterranean area, has also been declining. Scientists attribute this to the extreme heat.

To limit damage, the authorities in Kalavryta plan to remove all dead and infested trees. This might not be sufficient to save the forest.

"We cannot stop climate change," Lagouvardos said. What we can do is try to mitigate or find solutions. We cannot make snow. Angeliki Koutantou, Angeliki Koutantou and Alexandra Hudson edited the article.

(source: Reuters)