Forest loss higher than assumed according to satellites

The tree population in Germany continues to shrink dramatically according to the latest satellite data. According to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), more than 900,000 hectares of forest were lost between autumn 2017 and 2024. This corresponds to around 8.5 percent of the total German forest area. The losses have almost doubled since 2021, as the DLR demonstrated. According to the DLR, possible re-growth is not included in the data, as the young plants were still too small during the seven-year observation period.

Canopy loss of up to 45 percent in some areas

According to the satellite data, the Harz Mountains, south-westphalia and south-east Thuringia are particularly affected by forest damage. There, the proportion of so-called "canopy loss" in relation to the entire forest was well over 30 percent in some places. In the Sonneberg district (Thuringia), the loss between 2017 and 2024 even amounted to almost 45%. In Oberbergisches Land (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the district of Harz (Saxony-Anhalt), the losses amounted to around 36%. In Saxony, smaller municipalities in Upper Lusatia on the border with the Czech Republic and in the Ore Mountains are particularly affected, according to the figures.

"Environmental influences and pest infestations have clearly left their mark on our forests," said Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chairwoman of the DLR Executive Board. Unusually severe periods of drought, heatwaves and storms have taken their toll on Germany's forests in recent years. In order to better respond to the decline of the forest, the German Aerospace Center has launched a new online platform that gives the timber industry, local authorities and politicians access to the data.