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Forest dieback - the term sounds pretty out of date.
And not by chance: in the 1970s, the miserable condition of the German forest triggered one of the most important environmental policy debates in the Federal Republic.
Acid rain, air pollution and exhaust gases that damage the forest - these were big issues around 40 years ago.
In the meantime, however, concern about the health of the forest has largely disappeared from the public sphere.
Which is strange when you take a closer look at the trees.
Climate change and the associated droughts in recent years have severely affected the forests in this country.
The forest floor carries too little water, it is too warm and too dry.
This makes the trees susceptible to pests such as the bark beetle.
Numerous monocultures in this country exacerbate this problem;
they are much less protected from the attacks.
And seen globally, the situation is no better.
Forests around the world suffer from excessively high temperatures.
Conservationists, foresters and researchers are now arguing about how the new forest dying can still be stopped.
One of them: Nicole Wellbrock.
In this episode, "Climate Report", the scientist shows us how the climate affects German forests.
And she explains what needs to be done now to save the forest.
Because the forest could save us, but unfortunately Wellbrock says he cannot do it alone in its current condition.
The trees simply cannot bind enough emissions from the atmosphere to achieve the 1.5 degree target.
Other solutions are needed.
We are discussing them this week in the »Climate Report«, the weekly SPIEGEL podcast on the climate crisis.
The SPIEGEL podcast on the state of the planet appears every Tuesday on SPIEGEL.de and wherever there are podcasts.
