Overview
- Hesse reports only slight recent improvement, with 27% of trees showing medium crown thinning in 2025 and roughly 10% of its forest—about 90,000 hectares—classified as damaged since 2018.
- More than 25 million trees have been planted in Hesse’s state forests since 2018 as the government pursues conversion to diverse, climate-tolerant stands.
- Baden-Württemberg’s 2025 report notes modest recovery, with average crown dieback at 26.4%, a drop from last year, and the share of heavily damaged trees falling below the 2018 drought level.
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern records a net forest area gain of 5,688 hectares since 2012 and promotes Dauerwald management plus new plantings to expand forest cover.
- Scientists warn that heat, drought and pests such as bark beetle, mistletoe and ash dieback continue to erode resilience, underscoring calls to cut CO2 emissions alongside adaptation.