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Hanover (dpa / lni) - If you don't have a Christmas tree yet, you should opt for a regional organic fir tree if possible.
Environmentalists recommend this because many trees from large plantations are polluted with pollutants.
These included insect and plant poisons.
The nature conservation organization BUND recently had 23 Christmas trees from eight federal states, including Lower Saxony, examined for pesticides.
The result: residues from a total of nine different pesticides were detected in 14 trees.
The effect of these substances on people is "almost unknown," said Corinna Hölzel from BUND.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, it is often not possible to determine which means were used, especially for trees from abroad.
Even chemicals that are banned in Germany could be used there, they say.
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The nature conservation association Nabu also assumes that most Christmas trees come from cultures “where there is heavy spraying and fertilization”.
Trees from regional cultivation are better, preferably from certified organic cultures.
In Lower Saxony, for example, this is possible with the state forests.
"The Christmas trees that are felled in the Lower Saxony state forests are produced without the use of pesticides," assured a spokesman.
According to its own statements, the company sells several thousand fir trees every year.
The largest area is in the Salzgitter ridge, where a breed of sheep is used for maintenance, which eats the accompanying vegetation but not the Christmas trees.
BUND to the Christmas tree test
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Federal Environment Agency on Christmas trees
Nabu to Christmas trees
State forests to sell Christmas trees