De massale stjerte fan beammen yn Europeeske bosken
June 18, 2026 · Frisian News
Europe lost 530 million trees between 2018 and 2022 to drought and beetles. Monoculture forestry made ecosystems vulnerable to the collapse now unfolding.
FryskDútske bosbehearders befêstigen dat tusken 2018 en 2022 530 miljoen beammen stoaren. De measte kamen om troch drûchte en borkekjefers. Eastenryk, Poalen, Frankryk en Skandinavje rapportearren deselde massale útfal. Hiele bosregio's dy't desennia stien hiene waarden binnen twa seizoenen dea hout.
Europeeske bosbou makke in kar nei 1945. Ferskate ynlânske bosken makken plak foar monokultuerbeplantings, benammen spar en den, plante foar snelheid en winst. In sûn mingd bosk wjerstiet kjefers. In stresse monokultuer noegjet se út. Bosbehearders begrepen dizze ôfweging en keazen foar winst.
Borkekjefers eksplodearje yn drûge, stresse beammen. Yn in denmonokultuer ûnder drûchte iepenet ien oanstutsen beam de doar foar tûzenden. Yn in ynlânsk bosk mei iik, beuk en esk mingd, bliuwe kjefers beheind. De houtyndustry wist dit. Europeesk bosbelied subsidiearre dochs monokultuer.
De stjerte giet troch. Sjoch no wat der opnij plante wurdt. Bedriuwen dy't dea boslân besitte kieze: ferskate ynlânske bosken weromherstelle of monokultuer opnij oanlizze. Monokultuer groeit hurder. Subsydzjes befoarderje noch altyd yndustriële bosbou. De ekonomyske prikel wiist deselde rjochting.
Klimaatsstress slacht hurd ta. Mar 70 jier ynzetten op monokultuer boude dizze ynstorting. Europa beslút no wat opnij plante wurdt. As de houtekonomy opnij wint, groeit de folgjende stjerte al.
Germany's foresters confirmed 530 million trees died between 2018 and 2022. Most fell to drought and bark beetles. Austria, Poland, France, and Scandinavia reported matching die-offs. Entire forest regions that had stood for decades became dead wood in two seasons.
European forestry made a choice after 1945. Diverse native forests gave way to monoculture plantations, mostly spruce and pine, planted for speed and profit. A healthy mixed forest resists beetles. A stressed monoculture invites them. Foresters understood this trade-off and chose profit.
Bark beetles explode in dry, stressed trees. In a pine monoculture under drought, one infected tree opens the door to thousands. In a native forest with oak, beech, and ash mixed in, beetles stay contained. The timber industry knew this. EU forestry policy subsidized monoculture anyway.
The die-off continues. Now watch what gets replanted. Companies that own dead forest land face a choice: restore diverse native forests or replant monoculture again. Monoculture grows faster. Subsidies still favor industrial forestry. The economic incentive points the same direction it always did.
Climate stress is hitting hard. But 70 years of betting on monoculture built this collapse. Europe is now deciding how to replant. If timber economics win again, the next die-off is already growing.
Published June 18, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân