Collapse of the trees: drought threatens Wildau and Brandenburg!

Collapse of the trees: drought threatens Wildau and Brandenburg!

Nature impressively confronts us with its challenges. This was also the case in Wildau, where tree inspector Eric Fritzsche took a close look at the safety of a tall tree today. Tree number 159, a pine tree, stands on a sidewalk in front of the Awo retirement home and, despite its proud 25 meter height, is no longer safe for traffic. A dead branch that measures more than three centimeters in diameter represents an acute danger. Therefore, Fritzsche ordered that this branch must be removed within three months in order to minimize risks for passers-by maz-online.de reports that ….

The current situation is not only serious in Wildau, but also affects large parts of Brandenburg. In recent weeks, climate change has taken its toll as severe storms battered the forests, requiring more than 1,000 firefighting calls, often due to fallen trees or falling branches. Shocking reports of injuries, even a fatal accident, when a woman was killed by a tree in her car reached the public maz-online.de reports that ….

Drought and its consequences

At a time when spring 2025 was one of the driest since weather records began, property owners in Brandenburg now have to check their trees once a year. This makes it all the more important that experts like Fritzsche use their knowledge to identify potential dangers at an early stage. In the next three weeks he plans to check around 800 trees around the retirement home. Although these checks cost between 250 and 300 euros per home, they can save lives and prevent damage maz-online.de reports that ….

Fritzsche also draws attention to a worrying trend: many treetops have become thinner in recent years. This development is not only a sign of drought, but also makes the trees more susceptible to pests and diseases. During his checks, he noticed, for example, oak processionary moth caterpillars, which can cause allergic reactions maz-online.de reports that ….

Climate change as a threat

But what does that mean for our forests in Germany? A recent forest condition survey has shown that four out of five trees, including spruce, pine, beech and oak, are considered diseased. Experts warn that droughts and associated climatic changes are affecting the resilience of forests. “The trees have been damaged by the drought, and these fine roots have died in drought years, which makes their regeneration more difficult,” emphasizes Christopher Reyer from the Potsdam Institute. This ensures that less leaf mass is available for water uptake, which endangers the overall vitality of the trees rbb24.de reports that....

While forests cover around a third of Germany's area, the risk of consequential damage to previously damaged trees increases, especially when violent storms move through the regions. Dramatic incidents recently occurred in the Tegeler Forest in Berlin: thousands of trees were uprooted by squalls, and access to the forests remains closed for the time being in order to ensure the safety of the population rbb24.de reports that ….

The challenges are diverse and the consequences of climate change must be urgently addressed by us as a society, but also by political decision-makers. A focus should be on the development of innovative tools for analyzing the effects of climate factors on our forests in order to secure ecological functions and services in the long term. After all, forests are not only a habitat for many animal and plant species, but also an important CO2 sink and a recreational area for us humans nccs.admin.ch reports that ....