Patrick Losch explains on his forest estate why planting trees is necessary - and what Luxembourg's forest of the future could look like
On a walk through the forest, it becomes clear that the dying of trees is a reality.
The result of the bark beetle infestation in the spruce forests can be seen in the form of dead trees or clear-cuts where a forest owner has applied for emergency felling and, as a preventive measure, has harvested not only the dying trees but the entire stand.
The result of the bark beetle infestation in the spruce forests can be seen in the form of dead trees or clear-cuts where a forest owner has applied for emergency felling and, as a preventive measure, has harvested not only the dying trees but the entire stand.
Patrick Losch, president of the nature-focused Hëllef fir d'Natur foundation, is testing a less radical route to a sustainable forest on a part of his own property. When the first bark beetles appeared on the plot, he fenced in his entire spruce stand as a preventative measure - to protect the young trees that were expected to be browsed by wild animals.
"My employee and I regularly check which trees are infested and then only have these removed," said Losch. This creates small clearings throughout the forest. "The microclimate of the forest is preserved, with subdued light in which the blackberry cannot grow, but in which the growth of young trees is possible."
Some of the trees have already grown without human intervention. "There's a young Douglas fir here," said Losch, pointing out a tree as he makes his way through the brambles. A little further on, he surmises that jays have "helped" with the planting of oaks through their droppings. Sycamores, cherries and rowan trees also protrude from the undergrowth.
Losch has planted missing species such as beech, Norway maple and lime himself. "I'm doing that now so that there's already something to build on when the spruce trees are gone," said the forest owner. He wants to work with nature rather than against it. In a way, a new forest is spreading behind the continuing bark beetle infestation.
Elsewhere, spruce forests are cut down in their entirety and the ground vegetation is removed several times at great expense to rid the are of the pest.
"Finding and removing individual infested trees initially takes longer and is more time-consuming than industrial felling," said Losch. Nevertheless, he considers this form of regeneration to be sensible and realistically realisable, because: "The planting effort is much lower, as a diverse natural regeneration is established and only supplementary planting is necessary. The large-scale, repeated removal of encroaching vegetation is largely unnecessary."
Right next to an oak tree planted by the jay stands a birch tree that is already several metres tall. "The birch is a pioneer tree," said Losch. "It grows quickly, shields the ground beneath it and thus provides protection. It also creates good soil for subsequent tree species." This benefits the young oaks, for example, which sprout up under the birch.
However, if the birch continues to grow, the oaks will no longer be able to develop in its shade. "Only when the birch dies after perhaps 70 years can the next generation of oaks grow upwards," said Losch. "Nature doesn't care if it takes one cycle longer. But in order to rebuild a fully-fledged high forest more quickly, we will soon remove the birch to allow the oak to fully develop."
The need for regeneration measures and platings has a long history. "People have been using the forests and influencing which trees grow there for thousands of years," said Losch. "From this perspective, the trees that were not needed only took up space for useful trees and were removed." Biodiversity suffered as a result and therefore needs start-up aid in the form of planting today.
The importance of diversity can be seen in spruce monocultures, which are suffering from the effects of climate change, while bark beetles, which prefer to lay their eggs in spruces, benefit from higher temperatures. As a result, entire monocultures are dying.
Forests with different tree species, on the other hand, would be less susceptible to individual pests. "You don't just buy one share on the stock market," said Losch, emphasising the importance of a diversified portfolio for a valuable forest - valuable for nature, that is.
In addition to the trees already mentioned, the species that can cope with higher temperatures, increased drought and today's soils also include some other, rarer species such as the native wild service tree. Of course, Patrick Losch also has a few specimens of these in his "portfolio".