Grundsätzliche Betrachtungen zur Frage der ökologischen Regelung *

Summary The main task of ecological regulation is to prevent wood pests. Therefore, ecological regulation is aiming at the conservation and restoration of a permanent ecological order. Consequently, the term “ecological regulation” is not identical with the much narrower term of “biological control”. The terms “sound” and “ill” are explained, as well as the varying disposition, i. e. the susceptibility of the tree species to insect attack. The cause for the increased susceptibility to foliophagous and conifero‐phagous insects as well as to insects living in the wood and in the cambium and to explicit secondary insects, are physiological disturbances of the plant; they create the disposition. The disposition, in turn has its origin in nutrition‐physiology and again has an influence on the nutrition‐physiology of the insects. Physiological disturbances in the plants are caused by human interference and economic measures in disagreement with the biotope, which do not meet the physiological requirements of the tree species concerned. These physiological disturbances become apparent particularly in the water economy of the plant, in disturbances of the speed of sap circulation, of transpiration, in changes of electrical resistance, in changes in the live bark and in the chemism of the plant. Preventing these phenomena in the future is the task of ecological regulation. The large areas of ecological regulation are demonstrated by examples. It has been realized that the study of the history of settlement, economy, and forestry of an area gives explanations for the causes favoring or conditioning mass increases of foliophagous and conifero‐phagous insects (but also of the species living in the cambium and in the wood) and, on the other hand, provide hints for the implementation of ecological regulation. (This is true for mass increases both in natural and artificial growth areas of the tree species.) The aim of ecological regulation is to maintain or to restore the biotopic and biotic state that guarantees a permanent maximum health of the local flora and equilibrium of the fauna or, in case of previous artificial modification, to obtain the re‐establishment of the very same conditions of the biotope and of its living beings. All that is done with a view to satisfying the needs of mankind permanently and in the best way. This will never be achieved by materialistic methods, i. e. those considering the purpose of economy to be the production of the greatest quantity regardless of quality. Quality must never be replaced or even superseded by quantity. Only what profits man and mankind has a justification as a challenge and as a progress of technology ‐ even in the climax period of a civilization. Technology has to serve in a well‐balanced form. Technological coercion in the treatment of nature leads to catastrophies. In forestry, we must strictly reject all kinds of technological coercion, thus for instance the monoculture foreign to the biotope which is a collective of trees but not a wood. Also as far as forestry is concerned, ecological regulation has to take into account the properties of the still existing local tree species, their biotopes and biocenoses. This knowledge must be the basis for forest planning in order to obtain a greater resistance of the stands against pests. Planting of species foreign to the biotope must be preceded by physiological examinations on the tree species to be planted, in its natural biotope as well as by a comparison of the meteorological elements — including photoperiod, evaporation, etc. In planning with tree species and plants in general, the natural conditions of their place of origin are just as indicative as those of the culture land. For both culture landscape and natural landscape the main bases are the same and must be taken into consideration. In the future, all decisions in landscape and space planning must be taken only after consulting the competent representative of applied entomology; this holds also true for industrial and town planning as well as for measures of river regulation and lowering of subsoil water levels.