Economic and social consequences of invasions of pests and pathogens of trees in st. petersburg

An economic assessment of the damage caused by invasive tree insect pests and pathogens in urban plantings of St. Petersburg is given. Between 2001 and 2020, the invasion of elm bark beetles Scolytus multistriatus (Marsham), S. scolytus (Fabricius) and S. pygmaeus (Fabricius) and the concomitant spread of Dutch elm disease caused by the fungi Ophiostoma ulmi (Buisman) Nannfeldt and O. novo-ulmi (Brasier) (Ascomycota: Ophiostomataceae) resulted in the death of at least 37 000 elms in the city. The total damage exceeded 50 billion rubles. Compulsory sanitary cutting of the infected elms raised significant public concern. Plantations of common use, especially historical parks and gardens, lost most important landscape compositions, in which exactly elm trees had a key role. In two years, 2022-2022, the economic losses associated with the invasion and spread of Emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis , reached 270 million rubles. Detection of infested ash trees and their timely felling was effective. However, not all infested trees were spotted and removed and the pest reproduction continued. Urgent measures are needed to prevent further spread of Emerald ash borer and other invasive pests and pathogens in St. Petersburg and adjacent territories.