Abstract
Significant transitions are taking place in South Tyrol’s forests. In recent years disturbances like windthrows (VAIA 2018) or snow-pressure events (2019/2020) have formed an optimal substrate for an explosive bark beetle calamity, which had never been experienced before in South Tyrol. Each bark beetle pair has a reproduction rate of 2.5 generations per vegetation period, including at least one sibling brood. 6,400 ha of spruce forests were destroyed in 2022 alone. With high probability it is expected that the calamity will continue even more extremely in 2023. Thus, South Tyrol, with its 50 % forest landcover in the middle of the Alps that hosts millions of tourists every year, fears enormous societal and economic consequences, as 24 % of these forests are object protection forests. Accordingly, this has risen an enormous media attention and awareness among society on the health situation of local forest ecosystems.