At 26.8 million m³, the volume of damaged wood expected for the full year 2023 is 30% smaller compared to last year (2022: 38.4 million m³). However, it exceeds forecasts from the first quarter by around 1 million m³.
“Despite the decrease, the amount of damaged wood is still at a high level. It remains difficult to assess to what extent the long drought in summer with high temperatures until the end of July will impact not only the mass reproduction of bark beetles but also the vitality of deciduous trees,” a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture explains.
The projected volumes of damaged wood consist of 88% of softwood and 12% of hardwood logs. In each of the federal states of Thuringia, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, over 2 million m³ of damaged wood are expected to accumulate until the end of this year.
