Articles | Volume 18, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8071-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8071-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Development and technical paper
| 
30 Oct 2025
Development and technical paper |
| 30 Oct 2025
| 30 Oct 2025
Combining empirical and mechanistic understanding of spruce bark beetle outbreak dynamics in the LPJ-GUESS (v4.1, r13130) vegetation model
Fredrik Lagergren
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Anna Maria Jönsson
Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Mats Lindeskog
Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Thomas A. M. Pugh
Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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Short summary
The European spruce bark beetle (SBB) has, in recent years, been the most important disturbance agent in many European forests. We implemented a SBB module in a dynamic vegetation model and calibrated it against observations from Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and France. The start and duration of outbreaks triggered by storm damage and the increased damage driven by recent warm and dry periods were reasonably well simulated, although the spread was reflected in uncertain parameter estimates.
The European spruce bark beetle (SBB) has, in recent years, been the most important disturbance...
