After years of drought weakened their defenses, an infestation of bark beetles tore through the insides of the trees this summer, forcing Ritter and her team of foresters to have them chopped down and carted away before the damage multiplies. Over the course of a year, a single infested tree can affect 400 others.
Devastating wildfires in Greece this summer have destroyed an area much larger than New York City and taken at least 25 lives. In Germany, bark beetles, drought and storms led to record rates of forest destruction last year. “For a tree, even a single dry period is like a stroke,” said Ritter as she surveys the damage in Augsburg’s forests. “It takes three to five years to recover.”
Efforts have been underway in Germany for the past two to three decades to build up more natural mixed forests that include different conifers and deciduous trees to boost resilience. But progress has been slow and complicated by several factors, including the fact that about half of German woodlands are privately owned — also common in other parts of western and northern Europe.