Richard Wagner

Since 2018, large parts of Central European forests have had to be felled due to bark beetle infestation on a previously unknown scale. In some regions of Germany, over 80 percent of the forests are affected.

The infested species are mainly spruce trees. The bark beetles are bark-breeding insects, i.e. their larvae develop in the bark. This destroys the bast layer and interrupts the transport of nutrients, eventually leading to the death of the tree.

What remains when the forestry machines have finished their work: individual trees that are barely able to survive the next storm without the protection of the surrounding forest.

The soil is now unprotected from the sun and weather, and instead of new trees, mainly bushes and fast growing small plants are taking root.

Not only that the landscapes are completely different now, but also what you can see and hear in the forest, or better in what is left of it.

The full extent of this catastrophe can only be seen from above: Where have been forests, full of insects, birds and other animals, are now empty fields.

The cause of this progressive destruction are large spruce monocultures, which were intended to guarantee rapid growth and fast profit.

This is problematic because monocultures have been shown to be less resistant to environmental stressors, such as heat and parasites.

Bizarre landscapes with different plants have formed once the trees were gone.

Many more trees are infested by the bark beetle and will have to be felled in the next months.

What has been destroyed is not just the forest itself, but the integrity of the ecosystem I grew up in – something that is irreplaceable.

Post scriptum: It remains very questionable if this ecosystem, a forest around my hometown, was an ‘intact’ forest in a first place. However, this photo essay was intended to document the actual state of the environment I know since my childhood and the emotions I connect to it.

I am well aware of the fact that it was a (dysfunctional) monoculture in large parts, nevertheless, this does not change my emotions and memories. That’s also why I choose the rather provocative title „bring me back my forest“ – which is obviously not a desirable state to go back to.