10.000 trees for the Harz

The Harz, like many other forest areas, is affected by the effects of climate change on a large scale. Where there used to be forests, there are now large areas of bare land. It is inconceivable that in just two years forests amounting to 10,000 hectares have been destroyed in the state forests of Lower Saxony alone. The changed climate conditions must be taken into account in the subsequent planting of the resulting bare areas.

Storm Friederike whipped through the forests at speeds of up to 200 km/h in January 2018, leaving behind an unfathomable amount of damage. The quantities of storm wood were immense. Especially in such disasters, action must be taken quickly. The paths must be cleared and the wood processed. Once the bark beetle has discovered the windthrown wood, drilled into it and multiplied, the bark beetle population increases rapidly, starting from large quantities of material suitable for breeding. This leads to mass reproduction and infestation of weakened spruce trees that are still alive. This also happened in 2018 and 2019, where the development of the bark beetles was additionally favoured in combination with the exceptionally warm and dry weather. Many forests that had survived the storm fell victim to the voracious bark beetles and died.

But other tree species, such as beech, were also enormously affected by the heat and above all the drought. In many places, beech forests began to die.

Weather patterns such as those in 2018 and 2019, with extremely hot and dry summers and mild winters, coupled with an increase in extreme events such as storms, are to be expected more frequently in the future as a consequence of climate change. Like many other pests, bark beetles will also be favoured by these conditions. Therefore, mass reproduction can then increase. Even healthy trees will have no chance to defend themselves in such numbers.

On the one hand, the development of the last few years shows how important it is to convert the old spruce forests into mixed forests. On the other hand, it also shows that this must be tackled very urgently because of climate change and the consequences for the spruce forest. However, this cannot be done by planting wildly. Foresters have to consider factors such as soil type, location, nutrient balance and water supply, because not every tree thrives on every soil. 

It is also necessary to consider now how the conditions for the trees will change in the future, because even in 100 years' time the trees must be able to withstand the conditions prevailing then and withstand weather extremes. This is the only way to ensure that the forest will also be available to future generations as a climate protector, wood supplier, recreational and living space.