Climate crisis threatens forests: How Irschenhausen is changing course!

Climate crisis threatens forests: How Irschenhausen is changing course!

Things are really simmering in the forests of Bavaria! Climate change has left its mark particularly in the Ickinger Forest between Irschenhausen and the Garmisch Autobahn. Storms and an uninvited guest, the bark beetle, caused a lot of chaos here about a year and a half ago. A fallow forest stretches over 15,000 square meters and today offers a clear example of a diverse climate forest. Such areas are important in order to withstand challenges such as rising average temperatures and longer heat periods. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, the crowding of spruce trees in the Stangerl forests is becoming increasingly noticeable. These forests are particularly at risk from the increased proliferation of pests during warm years.

The bark beetle, a real pest of the forest, has celebrated a real festival in recent years due to extreme drought and high temperatures. In the period from 2018 to 2023 there was repeated massive damage, and the stability of the spruce forests was also affected. Strongly fertilized by external influences, it has rapidly expanded its distribution. The Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food points out that secondary pests on deciduous trees are also promoted by the prolonged drought and heat, which makes the situation even worse. According to the 2024 forest condition survey, over 21 percent of the trees in Germany are considered healthy, but the majority are in a worrying condition, as 36 percent have significant crown thinning.

Forest conversion as a response to the crisis

What can be done to help the forests get back on their feet? It is high time to set the course for the future. Forest conversion is very popular in order to adapt forests to climate change. An important aspect is the appropriate choice of tree species. With the Natural Climate Protection (ANK) action program, the federal government has recognized the urgent need for action and initiated measures to stabilize the forests. In 2024, a whopping 125 million euros in federal funds were available to support affected forest owners and promote their projects.

But the money is in great demand and unfortunately already sold out. The “Climate Adaptation Forest Management” (KWM) funding program was launched in 2022 to support both climate protection and biodiversity services and will be financed by the ANK from 2024. In the past, over 308 million cubic meters of calamity wood were recorded. Quite a large amount when you consider that over 282 million cubic meters of it is softwood.

The look ahead

It remains to be hoped that with all these measures the forest can not only be preserved, but also made sustainable. Because forests are not just habitats, they are also indispensable partners in climate protection and are of eminent importance as wood suppliers. However, the reality is that more than 500,000 hectares of forest area in Germany are urgently needed for reforestation. This fact underlines the urgency of our efforts, because love for the forest must be followed by actions, not just words!

At a time when calculations about the future of forests are commonplace, it is important to remain vigilant. If we manage to focus on natural forest structures and promote tree species diversity, we could perhaps still secure a future for threatened forests. Stay tuned, because the next steps are crucial for the next generations of our forests.