Forests in Germany still suffer from high climatic stresses: four out of five trees have visible damage to their crowns, A 2022 Federal Ministry of Agriculture survey presented on Tuesday also showed. Due to the frequent periods of drought and heat, the crowns of almost every tree have been greatly diminished. Overall, there have been no significant improvements in the condition of the forest, but no significant degradation compared to 2021. Therefore, environmentalists, forest owners, and the government are pushing for a shift to more resilient forests.
Minister Cem Özdemir said the survey’s “disturbing results” show that more measures are needed to ensure forests can withstand future droughts and higher temperatures. “This means: mixed forests instead of monoculture.” To support such a transfer, the Ministry is providing a total of €900 million in program financing for the period 2022-2026.
Overall, damage to trees “remains at a very high level,” according to the new State of the Forests survey. Last year, 35 percent of all species still had “significant” damage – compared to healthy trees, more than a quarter of the crown was already empty. Again, 44 percent of the trees belong to the ‘Warning Level’ with poor crown thinning from 11 to 25 percent. Full crowns continued to gain 21 percent. How dense the leaves or needles are is an indicator of health.
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