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Forest near Soest infested by the bark beetle
Photo: Jochen Tack / imago images
Efforts to save the German forest are showing initial success - for example in North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to the Ministry of the Environment there, the amount of damaged wood has increased to around 35 million cubic meters since 2018 due to the relatively humid first half of the year - and the consequent spread of the bark beetle.
At the same time, almost 19 million cubic meters of spruce were saved from infestation.
In purely mathematical terms, more than 72 billion beetles in North Rhine-Westphalia have been rendered harmless, said Hubert Kaiser, head of the state forest authority, the "Westfalenpost".
In the Sauerland, for example, they are trying to save what can be saved in a pilot project.
There, larger, still intact spruce stands at higher altitudes would be determined with the help of satellite data.
The aim is to remove infested trees from the forest as quickly as possible.
For years, forests across Germany have been suffering from climate change and infestation by the bark beetle.
According to the authorities, the insect has already hunted down 44 percent of the entire population in North Rhine-Westphalia alone.
sbo / dpa