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Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - After years of drought and exposure to the bark beetle, the beech is increasingly becoming a problem child in the Baden-Württemberg forest.
In the past quarter, around 170,000 cubic meters of damaged beech wood had already been felled, while it was around 220,000 cubic meters in the entire past year, warned Forest Minister Peter Hauk (CDU) on Thursday in Stuttgart.
The damage is particularly severe in the northern part of the Rhine-Neckar, Middle Upper Rhine, northern Black Forest, Stuttgart and Heilbronn-Franconia regions.
"The drought damage is a direct consequence of climate change," said Hauk.
According to the minister, older beech trees are particularly affected.
They are less vital and cannot adapt as well to the new and drier conditions.
After the spruce, the beech is the second most common tree species in Baden-Württemberg with a share of around 22 percent.
Some of the damage occurs with a delay and is the result of the past three dry and above-average hot years, as Hauk said.
Last year, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) had already given the beeches a special look during a visit to the forest and warned of the spruce trees infested by the bark beetle: "If the beeches are hit hard, then the alert is red."
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According to the latest forest status report by the Ministry of Agriculture, 46 percent of Baden-Württemberg's forest area is now considered to be significantly damaged.
In 2019, the value was three percentage points lower.
According to the report, the consequences of the past dry years can be observed in all tree species.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210506-99-489973 / 2
On the forest strategy of the state of Baden-Württemberg
Forest condition report 2020