Last Updated on July 7, 2026 by Staff
Europe’s forests are in trouble. A lot of trees are dying earlier than they should. For a time people thought drought was the main reason. A new study says that warm or wet springs can also make trees die.
This is surprising because you would think that good weather would be good for trees. It can actually make them weaker and more likely to die later in the year.
The people who did this study are from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research and the French Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement. They published their study in Nature Communications.
They looked at data from France’s forest inventory. They found out that changes in the weather all year round not during the summer affect whether trees live or die.
Forest Crisis
Europe’s forests have been getting worse over the twenty years. You can see this when beech trees get leaves in the summer. Spruce forests are also getting hurt by beetles. Big storms are damaging forests all over the continent.
In some places forests are even sicker than they were in the 1980s. Then air pollution was really bad for trees. Now climate change is making things harder for forests.
The researchers studied forest records from 2015 to 2023. They looked at information about 500,000 trees from 52 species. These trees were growing in all sorts of weather conditions.
Surprising Discovery
The researchers used computers and special models to see how the weather affects trees.
They found out something. When springs are warm and wet trees can actually be more likely to die in the year.
Some types of trees like silver fir are especially affected. When spring is good these trees grow fast and make a lot of leaves and branches. This can be a problem.
These trees need a lot of water. When they grow fast in the spring they use up a lot of water from the soil. If the summer is dry the trees do not have water. This can be really bad for them. The researchers also think that wet springs can make it easier for trees to get sick. This can make them weaker before the summer even starts.
Climate Effects
The study showed that one big weather event is not the thing that can hurt trees.
Trees are affected by all sorts of changes in the weather all year round. Sometimes when it is slowly getting drier this can be worse for trees than a really dry period. It depends on the type of tree.
When winters are warm this can also be bad for trees. More insects and pests can survive the winter. When springs are warm, trees start growing leaves sooner. If it gets cold again these new leaves can get hurt. This can make it harder for the tree to grow and survive.
The researchers think that all these things together affect whether trees live or die. Europe’s forests are facing a lot of challenges.
Future Forests
The researchers think that their study can help people take care of forests better.
They suggest planting trees that can handle drought better. They can use trees from southern areas that are used to warmer and drier weather.
Forest managers might need to cut down trees that use a lot of water. This can help the other trees get water during dry summers.
They also think that thinning out forests will be important. This means cutting down some trees to make room for the others.
This can help forests be healthier, in the run. The researchers think that their study can help European countries.
They showed that climate change is affecting forests in ways. Good weather is not enough to keep forests healthy. Trees need a balance of bad weather to stay strong.