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About the state of the forests in Luxembourg: between fallen trees and hair ice

Writer's picture: N. QuareN. Quare

Unlike what is commonly believed and spread by mainstream media and politicians, namely that the climate crisis will spare modern middle and upper classes in the rich Western world, reality reveals another story, a sobering one that doesn’t exempt Luxembourg (one of the richest countries per capita in the EU). 


Let us take two paths to describe the state of forests in Luxembourg: a testimony and the latest scientific reports from the Luxembourgish authorities.


A testimony of the forest nearby


Historically, our experiences have been the way to inform ourselves about the world and understand reality. So let me begin with a personal testimony.


After this last autumn and the current winter, the path through the bigger forest near my home, a public forest from Koerich CNE, has become more and more daunting to go into. First of all, because the amount of fallen trees and branches increases by the day. The paths are blocked by fallen trees and branches from the entrance onwards. So that it is impossible to follow the path for decent stretches. One time while walking with my son to find the path again, we heard a loud whoosh and just some steps behind us a huge branch fell. That branch could have fallen on us. Later on, someone that seemed like a forestry worker told us to be careful with the sick rats, advising us against our joyful forest walks.


While we normally enjoy our strolls in the forest, this one left an unsettling aftertaste. More so as  a tourist had been fatally injured and died after a tree fell on him in October 2024 in the forest path in Lellig, Manternach. The administration of nature and forests reminded us that the causes of the instability of the trees are the extreme meteorological conditions such as the dry summer and the humid winters which are affecting the trees.


The same administration called for caution suggesting: “enter the forests at your own risk”.


Since then, the increasing evolution of fallen trees maintains me under alert: not only is it getting harder to breath (carbon dioxide concentration at 428.59 ppm CO2 on 19.01.2025) and the climate becomes more extreme, but the ecosystems which we are part of and our lives depend on, are clearly affected, if not collapsing, and the forests too, are becoming threatening. And this is just about the biggest living beings in the forest, the trees, what about the birds and insects and fungus which are not so evident to see? The forests are not only becoming slowly more quiet, they are slowly falling around us.



A consternation settled: what if one day it is not possible to go to the forest anymore? Where to breathe fresh air? Where to get in touch with the life in which we depend on and coexist? I dreaded the thought of it… 

We decided to still stroll through the forest among the menacing hanging branches, the broken paths, the crunchy leaves, the brief and uncanny appearance of deer or rabbits, the singing birds and the fungus… for as long as we can.


This year we continue to admire a so-called rare phenomenon: hair ice (Hoeräis in Luxembourgish). It can be described as white and shiny thin hairs that grow on the dead wood like a beautiful and funny beard. It is a delicate and beautiful sight that is supposed to happen rarely as it needs very particular conditions to form. 



According to MeteoSwiss, the conditions include the presence of dead wood on the soil, lots of moisture from recent rain and cold nights between -1 and -5 degrees. This phenomenon happens thanks to a winter fungus called Exidiopsis effusa in which “liquid water in the wood pores has a lower surface tension and a lower melting point than free water. If the supercooled water from the wood freezes on the surface, more water is sucked out of the wood and the filigree hair grows in length” creating this thin hairs. Normally it is ok to touch it, as it is just snow and it will simply melt.


The rare phenomenon is simply abundant for several weeks and I cannot avoid to wonder what its abundant presence hints to us regarding the changes nature is experimenting today.


The factual state of forests in Luxembourg


The environmental portal of the Luxembourgish government begins its section dedicated to forests explaining the importance of forests for our survival. For that purpose, it enlists their different ecosystem services… in other words, the utilities of the forests: from carbon capture to rural jobs and renewable energy (wood). It acknowledges that forests cover 90.000 hectares, one third of the territory(1). It continues describing the types of forests and the largest forests in the country. Nevertheless, when arriving at the section about the state of the forests, no clear statistics or information are available. Instead vague statements are put forward: “Our forests suffer the impact of human activities (air pollution, climate change,...): Their state of health has steadily deteriorated over the last 30 years, affecting all tree species. Forest health is constantly monitored, and phytosanitary inventories are carried out on a regular basis.”(2) The section ends with the measures taken by the government which enlists 15 green buttons to links regarding laws, subventions, certifications, inventaries, among others. 


Given the importance of forests for our survival, one would expect to have concisely updated and clear information regarding their state. Unfortunately, the last national forest inventory available in the portal dates from 2011! A less ambitious and extensive report is that of the phytosanitary inventory of the forests in Luxembourg with its latest report from 2023. Its results are alarming:



Source: Les résultats de l’inventaire phytosanitaire 2023 des forêts du Luxembourg, Administration de la nature et des forêts.
Source: Les résultats de l’inventaire phytosanitaire 2023 des forêts du Luxembourg, Administration de la nature et des forêts.

The graph shows how since 2019 the health of trees degraded dramatically (see the evolution o the green bars). Moreover, the last column shows the statistics for 2023: not only 12% of trees are dead or dying, but more than half of the trees are considerably damaged. In all, ranging from death to slightly damaged, 85% of trees are affected and merely 14% of trees are in good health. 


The report concludes that the factors (natural and human-made) affecting the forests are: extreme climatic (for example, abnormally hot and dry springs and summers in 2018-2020, 2022 and 2023), pests, disturbance on nutrient balance of the soil, unsuitable species, atmospheric pollution and fruiting intensity. No where the word climate change, which has an impact to all the above mentioned factors.


Another report to mention is the Grand Dossier Layman Report 2023. It is described as an initiative of the Ministry of Environment to push forward investigation about the environment through the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) for more than 10 years. The research is supposed to be accessible through this grand dossier. While the report is full of beautiful designs, words and imagery, it lacks findings, statistics or facts. Instead, it dwells on the importance of the research, what has been done (small, disconnected facts might appear hear, but not necessarily), and what is next. The pages and pages of projects do link to actual research *even when mentioned), instead they provide email addresses. It appears as if the purpose of this grand dossier is more to sell the projects than to share the knowledge about the state of the environment.


The state of the forests was on the news for a week maybe when the reports came out in 2023 and 2024. Yet, the news is soon rewritten and rebranded with the focus moved from the alarming steady increase of damage and death of trees to the business and governmental initiatives to save them. That is, what aimed to be an informative piece ends up becoming a commercial and governmental propaganda that conveys the idea that everything will be ok.


But it is not ok, the initiatives are not only insufficient, they focus on commercial and political propaganda that lacks enforcement, engagement and awareness raising of society at large. MECO is one of the organisations that has provided the strongest criticisms and demands in this regard.

Share your testimony in the comments section


We invite you to share your testimony about the state of biodiversity and nature near you. Whether it is the forest or a green area, what is your testimony? What are your concerns, if any? What are your experiences? 


Do your forests experience an abundance of fallen trees and branches? What about hair ice? Is it a common phenomenon in Luxembourg? 


Do you see the impact of climate change in Luxembourg? Where? How?



Footnotes:

(1) Acknowledging that more than half, 54%, are privatized forests.

(2) Nos forêts souffrent des impacts liés aux activités humaines (pollution de l’air, changement climatique, …) : leur état de santé s’est constamment détérioré les 30 dernières années, touchant toutes les essences forestières. L'état de la santé des forêts est suivi en permanence et des inventaires phytosanitaires sont réalisés régulièrement.

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