German forest ranger aims to outsmart drought

STORY: Cracked earth… and dried-out trees.

These scenes are heartbreaking for German forest ranger Ralf Jaekel – who has been restructuring this forest near Frankfurt to make it more resilient.

He says future-proofing it is getting harder.

The reason: hotter and drier weather.

Jaekel tends to about 35,000 acres of forest in the state of Hesse.

This year alone, the goal is to plant up to 5 million new trees.

But the forest grows on rock, so it’s hard to retain water.

"On the sites with extreme conditions, the tree species on which we are relying massively for the future have not made it either."

About 25 years ago, Jaekel began swapping spruce trees for oak and Douglas fir, which seemed to cope better with the increasingly warmer and drier weather.

This year, those firs dried out.

A fungus infestation only made things worse.

"We have replaced many of the less resilient tree species on the risky sites, with a focus on spruce, in recent years. // We believed that we were building a stable forest that is fit for the future. We still believe that, but it is becoming increasingly difficult. And seeing this makes us sad. It also really takes away your motivation."

Jaekel says even though March was one of the wettest in decades...

That couldn’t un-do the damage from several hot and dry summers.

His corner of Germany is hardly alone.

Europe has experienced record temperatures and wildfires in some parts, like Greece.

Jaekel, who has dedicated his working life to these woods, isn’t giving up just yet.

"We will also have to experiment and try things out. If we have a Mediterranean climate, we have to see whether or not Mediterranean species or Eastern European species that are much better adapted to hot summers and cold winters are the better option here for some areas."