Harz blossoms again: Volunteers plant 3,500 trees for climate protection!

Harz blossoms again: Volunteers plant 3,500 trees for climate protection!

The climate crisis is clearly noticeable in the Harz: extreme drought, violent storms and the dreaded bark beetle have severely damaged the coniferous forests. Around 80 percent of the spruce stands have now died, with around 1,300 hectares particularly affected in Braunlage. But there is hope: volunteers have come together to plant new trees for the forest of the future. Loud my-onlinezeitung.de As part of the 35th anniversary of the Bergwaldprojekt e.V. alone, around 3,500 native trees such as oaks, winter linden trees and hornbeams were planted.

One of the supporters of this series of campaigns is Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Christian Meyer, who recently took part in two planting campaigns in Braunlage. He emphasized the importance of these initiatives not only for climate protection, but also for securing biodiversity. The project is supported by Greenpeace e.V., the Climate Alliance and the Lower Saxony State Forests. In a long-term program, the Lower Saxony state government is also investing 130 million euros in one of the largest nature restoration projects outside the national park.

What exactly are the goals? The focus is on creating climate-stable and species-rich mixed mountain forests on over 270 square kilometers of dead spruce stands. Around two thirds of the future stocks will be deciduous trees such as beech and sycamore, supplemented by pioneer species such as birch and aspen. A fifth of the areas are kept free for natural succession, while dead trees and dead wood in the forest are preserved as important habitats.

Forest conversion and mixed crops

In recent years, forestry strategies have changed fundamentally. Monocultures, once considered optimal for industrial timber harvesting, are increasingly becoming problematic in the face of climate change. Mixed forests, on the other hand, are more resistant to high temperatures and drought, reports tagesschau.de. Experts point out that after the enormous damage since 2018, which has cost over 25 billion euros in the forestry industry, mixed crops represent the ideal solution to reduce the risk of total loss.

Eberhard Recleben emphasizes the importance of the spruce, but also explains that it should not get out of hand. Based on the lessons of the spruce catastrophe, forestry should now rely more on mixed tree species. There are already positive developments in forest conversion in Trautenstein: larches are growing splendidly here. Reckleben is optimistic that in five years half of the areas affected by the bark beetle will already be planted, provided the weather cooperates.

Since the climate forecasts for the region are worrying - remaining pine stands could die off in the next 10 to 20 years - forest conversion relies on a variety of tree species and age classes. Not only do mixed forests promote a more stable ecosystem, they also store precipitation and provide habitat for many animal and plant species, which at the same time increases biodiversity in the Harz.

With a good hand for nature and a wide range of tree species, a diverse and resilient forest will hopefully emerge in the Harz for future generations - a beautiful place that not only serves us, but also nature.