Joel's description of total agricultural devastation where even the bark is stripped and broken from trees. Paired with 'desolation,' this term intensifies the image of comprehensive ruin - not just damaged but splintered, reduced to fragments. The locust plague Joel describes doesn't merely harm but obliterates, leaving behind broken remnants. This physical destruction serves as object lesson for spiritual truth: sin doesn't just diminish but destroys, breaking life into fragments. Yet Joel's prophecy moves toward restoration - where God's judgment splinters, his Spirit rebuilds.