The condition of the forests is worrying: many older trees are suffering from drought, pests and storms, and the consequences of climate change have made the forest more susceptible to fires. Furthermore, only 21% of tree crowns are still intact. The current forest condition report of the Thünen Institute for Forest Ecosystems in Eberswalde once again shows the vulnerability of the forest ecosystem and the urgent need for action. A project has now been launched at the institute that aims to provide relevant information about forests quickly and unbureaucratically so that appropriate measures can be taken to counteract problems at an early stage.

Interface of forest stakeholders

The Copernicus Network Office "Wald" ("Forest") sees itself as an interface between forest stakeholders and experts in the field of remote sensing. They all want to establish a professional network involving forest remote sensing stakeholders - from the German Space Agency to forest owners, ministries and nature conservation associations to companies and research institutions.

Combining and exchanging remote sensing technologies

The network relies on data from space provided by ESA satellites as part of various Copernicus programs. For years, remote sensing data have provided information on the condition of forests and thus insight into damage caused by drought or storms, for example. Through the newly established network office, existing applications and activities of remote sensing technologies will now be recorded and exchanged, for instance, to standardize data and collection methods and to enable improved monitoring. On the basis of a needs analysis, user concepts are also to be drawn up in order to optimize future support measures.

The Copernicus Network Office "Wald" ("Forest") was initiated by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

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