During an inventory in 1993, 15 individuals were found. In 1999 and 2012, eight individuals were found per inventory. Last year, none were found.
"When a species disappears from a location, it's quite dramatic. It reveals that major changes are occurring that species cannot survive," says Pär Eriksson, who led the investigations, in a press release from Upplandsstiftelsen.
He sees it as a signal that the forest's biodiversity is threatened on a large scale. The fact that the proportion of older, deciduous-dominated forests has decreased significantly in the 139 square kilometer area surveyed is pointed out as the likely cause of the three-toed woodpecker's disappearance.
