Erfurt (dpa/th) - Young trees in the Thuringian forests suffer massively from heat and drought. According to the State Forest Institute of Thuringia, the reports from district foresters indicating drought damage in forest cultures are increasing. "We have increased failures on our crops, but the tree regeneration, which occurs by itself, is also severely affected by the drought," said a spokesman for the German Press Agency. Reforestation is a central forestry measure to make the local forests more climate-stable for the future.
Since there has been little precipitation with high daytime temperatures since May 2022, an increase in drought damage in forest crops can be expected compared to previous years, it said. In the years past, the district foresters reported between 10 and around 60 hectares of drought damage in forest crops. In 2018, the first so-called "drought year", this value jumped to 435 hectares, and in 2019 to 643 hectares - which corresponds to a tenfold increase. Then the numbers fell slightly again. In 2020, 105 hectares of drought damage were reported. In 2021, a year with relatively high rainfall and rather cool temperatures, the value fell back to 11 hectares.
As in the years 2018 to 2020, watering campaigns will be carried out again this year with the support of the population. For example, the forestry office in Sonneberg and the local "Fridays for Future" movement called on residents to support the rescue of the dry trees with verve and watering cans. Young trees in particular need plenty of water to grow. Past experience has shown that such measures definitely have a positive effect on crops.
But such irrigation campaigns are also extremely complex in terms of organization, said the spokesman. "The experience gained shows that there are increasing problems in providing the water required for such campaigns." Depending on the district, the withdrawal of water from standing or flowing water is now prohibited, for example in the district of Ilm-Kreis or in the district of Sonneberg. In Sonneberg, the success so far is "manageable". Prevention is the motto: For this purpose, experiments are being carried out with water-retaining root granules, dipping methods and tillage with milling excavators. In the long run, the planting of more drought-resistant deciduous tree cultures, such as sessile oak, field maple and wild cherry should help. According to the spokesman, the coniferous trees silver fir and Douglas fir are also part of the future of the Thuringian Forest.
