In Bavaria, every year in July and August, forest surveys are conducted, covering around 17,000 trees. The results of these studies are to be presented to the Bavarian Landtag at the end of the year. According to Wolfgang Stöger of the Freising-based Bavarian Landscape Association for Forestry and Forestry, after a series of dry summers, this spring's high rainfall may have helped slow down the process of forest degradation.
In 2023, only about 12% of trees in Bavarian forests had no visible damage from drought or heat, a historic low. For example, in 2022 there were 28% of such trees. This year's rains have given hope for an improvement in the situation, although the trees that have already been damaged will not be able to recover quickly.
The main control method is the so-called "forest state assessment", which was first introduced after the mass extinction of forests in the 1980s. To do this, specialists examine approximately 450 places in the state's forests every year. According to Steger, the owners of the forests are not aware of the selection of their trees for the study to prevent possible falsification of the results.
At the inspection sites, metal tubes about 30 centimeters long are inserted into the ground, which helps specialists find the selected trees. This year's survey was conducted by Michael Heym and Steger, they use a magnetic detector to find these tubes.
Bavarian forests are dominated by beeches, oaks, birches, pines and spruces, which is an ideal example of a mixed forest. These trees are examined through rangefinders, recording such data as the number of cones or acorns, the loss of needles, as well as possible damage by bark beetles. In the 1980s, the situation with the tannas was critical, but since then their condition has stabilized. The current challenge lies in adapting to climate change: from monocultures to mixed forests, with a high proportion of drought-resistant trees, which would have been difficult to achieve in the past.
