- Specialists conduct wellness assessments on forest-dwelling trees.
Every year for the Forest Wellness Summary, professionals conduct a thorough health examination on numerous trees in Berlin. They scrutinize the tree's crown condition, leaf count, and indicators of pest and fungus invasion.
As Peter Harbauer, Berlin's Forestry Department's spokesperson, put it, "Given sufficient water, they'd be fully green and fully leaved." Nevertheless, if a tree isn't in peak health, it might drop leaves and needles to decrease water loss.
Over a thousand trees were assessed at around forty-one spots in Berlin. The findings will be unveiled towards the end of the year, presumably in November, according to the environmental authorities.
To carry out the inspection, trees are analyzed from a distance equal to one tree's length on all sides. Apart from evaluating crown leakage or foliage loss, experts also examine the strength of fruit or seed production.
The 2023 Forest Wellness Summary revealed that a meager six percent of forest trees were thriving. Nearly two-thirds were slightly harmed, and thirty percent were severely impacted. Despite the additional rainfall this year, there were also extended dry spells. "The high average temperatures and numerous sunny days triggered evaporation and water shortage in the trees."
Trees can surely regenerate and accommodate climate shifts, but the present speed of climate change is too expedited for the delicate forest ecosystem.
Despite the additional rainfall, the prolonged dry spells due to the high temperatures and numerous sunny days resulted in a water shortage in the trees, contributing to the drought conditions. The impact of the drought was evident in the 2023 Forest Wellness Summary, where a substantial portion of forest trees were affected, including those that were slightly harmed and severely impacted.
