Germany鈥檚 embattled forests shift into climate focus
威力彩玩法 / Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The protection and expansion of German forests is becoming increasingly important to climate protection, as prolonged droughts have begun to take a toll on the country鈥檚 biggest ecosystems. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country鈥檚 climate cabinet has debated the options for reforestation as 鈥渧ery, very large damages鈥� threaten this important carbon sink. With thousands of landowners struggling to limit damage to trees on their property, reforestation is 鈥渁 great task鈥� for Germany鈥檚 climate and energy fund, Merkel said.
German landowners fear losses of several billion euros as their forests suffer heat damage and bark-beetle infestation, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Larissa Schulze-Trieglaff, spokesperson of forest-owners鈥� association AGDW, told the newspaper Germany faced 鈥渢he catastrophe of the century for our woodlands鈥�, saying drought and bark beetles had already destroyed some 110,000 hectares of forest across the country. The drought makes trees less resistant against pests and has allowed several species of tree-eating insect to flourish, the article says.聽
A study by Zurich University found that planting huge numbers of trees across the globe could be an effective way to limit man-made climate change. Earlier this month, agriculture minister Julia Kl枚ckner said she wanted to use revenue from emissions trading to finance the planting of millions of trees in Germany.
