Saxony's forests well supplied with water at the beginning of the year

The forests in Saxony are well supplied with water at the beginning of the year. "It's fine for the time of year: not too dry, not too wet," said Rainer Petzold, Head of the Department for Site Investigation and Soil Monitoring at the state-owned company Sachsenforst.

However, the months of February and March are crucial for a good start to spring. "They must not be dry," said Petzold. If there is no rainfall, a drought could quickly develop again.

The winter months serve to replenish the soil water reservoirs in the forests. If this is not successful, as has recently been the case in the drought years since 2018, this means stress for the forest.

Soil moisture traffic light provides information on forest soils

Sachsenforst, together with TU Dresden, has developed a soil moisture traffic light that provides online information on the forest climate and the condition of forest soils. The project was launched in Saxony, but has since been extended to the neighboring states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

The interactive map shows that the topsoil is currently well moistened throughout the Free State of Saxony. However, the situation is different in the lower layers from 60 centimeters downwards. "Surprisingly, we still have dry conditions in the subsoil in all regions. We still need precipitation in the coming months," said Petzold.

Drought since 2018 still having an effect

The previous year had already been favorable for the forests: In 2024, it rained more than average in Saxony. Before that, however, there had been several extremely dry years in a row since 2018. This affected the trees; they became susceptible to pests or died. The spruce monocultures were particularly affected. According to Petzold, the consequences of this drought are still being felt.