This is not an entirely new situation per se – every now and then there are storms and snow damage. What is new, or rather palpable for the first time, is climate change which does not indicate an end of such calamities. The Czech Republic is the best example: Experts predict the complete extinction of spruces in the coming ten to 15 years. Today, the staple tree of Czech forestry is growing on more than 1.3 million hectares.
In Germany, the volume of damaged wood doubled compared to the previous year, to almost 70 million m³ in 2019. Part of it – over 2.5 million m³ until October – was shipped to China in containers. Only a year before, there were practically no German softwood log exports to China.
The Austrian Chamber of Agriculture estimates the volume of damaged wood accumulated in Austria in 2019 at 10 million m³ and thus again at over 50% of overall logging. Especially the volume of trees damaged by bark beetles reached a new record level of 5.5 million m³. It is the third consecutive “record year”.
The price slump accompanied by the surplus led to a marked decrease in the logging of fresh timber in small privately owned forests. Combined with regional storms in November this resulted in a sudden shortage in logs in Austria and Southern Germany, a situation which continues to this day.
The question remains how to react to rapidly changing conditions in domestic forests in the medium and long term. While some have pronounced spruce dead in certain regions, others show possibilities for adapting to climate change with various silvicultural measures and the breeding of forest plants. However, a lot remains to be done in Germany and Austria especially when it comes to suitable plants which are resistant to bark beetles and droughts.
The fact is that forests are going to change and forestry as well as the timber industry will have to adapt to those changes as quickly as possible – preferably together.
