The environment ministry on Monday presented the results of a study on Luxembourg forests, which studied 1,500 trees across the country assessing the leaves and crown of the tree and studying the bark for parasites or fungi, among other criteria.

“The damage that has occurred is due in particular to the consequences of the summers of 2018-2020, which were marked by periods of heat and drought as well as by winters with little rain and little snow,” the ministry said in a statement.

Only 16% of trees are healthy, the analysis concluded with around a third lightly damaged and more than half of trees (51%) being severely damaged or dead.

On a slightly positive note, the health of Luxembourg’s forests improved between 2020 and 2021, with the number of severely damaged or dead trees down from 53% and the number of healthy trees up from 14%.

A rainy 2021 could further improve forest health in the 2022 assessment, the ministry said.

Beech suffered the most, with nearly two thirds of trees severely damaged and only 1.4% completely healthy. Oak and other hardwood trees were less affected with 45% severely. Conifers were the healthiest trees, with more than a third in good condition compared to 27% light damage and 37% severe damage.

Around a third of Luxembourg is covered in forest and the government has adopted different subsidy programmes to help restore forests in the country.