Spatial and temporal dynamics of a bark beetle outbreak in the Eastern European Alps

The European Alps are currently considered among the ecoregions with the highest magnitude of average bark beetle disturbance per year. The dataset and code can be used for a disturbance regime characterization based on a unique database including more than 50,000 records of ground-based bark beetle disturbance observations that were collected in the Eastern Alps for the years 2020 to 2023. The proposed methodology, which is built on the extraction of disturbance metrics and parameters, can help with the correct parameterization of forest disturbance models, and thus support our capability of predicting future patterns of beetle dispersal and effects on carbon stocks in the alpine region and beyond.