Günther: State of Saxony's forests a cause for concern

Light crowns and needle loss in spruce and larch

According to the current forest status report, the crowns of less than a quarter of the trees are without noticeable damage. At 25.1 percent, the average needle loss of spruce is the fourth highest ever recorded and is well above the long-term average. In the case of pine, it fell slightly to 22.5 percent. Here, only 14 percent have healthy crowns. Infestation by bark beetles and jewel beetles remains comparatively high in some regions. Crown thinning (leaf and needle loss) also increased further in other conifers such as larches to 25.5 percent - a record level. Deciduous trees such as oak, beech, maple, ash and birch continue to be damaged by pest infestation and drought.

Oak the problem child

With an average crown thinning of 45 percent, the oak is the problem child. "Undamaged oaks are practically no longer to be found in Saxony's forests," it said. Only 19 percent are considered to be slightly damaged, 80 percent significantly damaged. The proportion of healthy beech trees also decreased to 35 percent.

In addition to crown thinning and the degree of yellowing, other characteristics such as flowering, fruiting, number of needle years as well as biotic damage, for example caused by insects and fungi, and abiotic damage, for example caused by drought, fire and storms, were recorded on 6,504 trees to record the condition of the forest.

Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved