Forest knowledge

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Currently around 11.4 million hectares covered with forest. This corresponds to just under a third of Germany's total area. Thanks to sustainable management, the forest area has increased by more than 1.5 million hectares in the last 50 years.

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There are now around 90 billion trees in German forests, which is over 1,000 trees per inhabitant.

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Around 90 tree and shrub species can be found in German forests. Currently, spruces, pines, beeches and oaks dominate 73% of the forest floor.

Germany is the most densely forested country in Central Europe.
Today, deciduous trees cover a good 45% of the forested area and conifers just under 55%.
For several decades, a conversion of our forests towards more deciduous trees and mixed stands has been observed. The proportion of deciduous trees has increased by around 12% since the 1990s.

Selected results of the third National Forest Inventory

Forest, the green lung

Forests produce oxygen and purify the air. Deciduous forests produce 15 tons of oxygen per hectare every year, coniferous forests even produce 30 tons per hectare per year. A single hectare of forest filters up to fifty tons of soot and dust from the atmosphere every year.

Forest is a habitat

The forest is a habitat for countless animal and plant species. Of all terrestrial habitat types, forests are home to the most species. Around 4,300 plant and fungus species and more than 6,700 animal species live in our Central European forests.

Useful function

Forests produce our climate-friendly, renewable raw material wood. In Germany, around 60 million cubic meters of wood are sustainably felled every year, which is generally significantly less than the amount that grows back, apart from a few exceptional years due to calamity.

Recreational function

Forests offer recreation seekers peace, relaxation and a favorable recreational climate. The forest air is demonstrably healthy and the forest is used intensively for exercise and sporting leisure activities.