Germany’s sawmilling sector is pushing for a national plan to expand storage capacity for beetle-damaged spruce, as research shows that properly handled timber can remain usable for longer than many in the market may assume.
Germany’s timber industry is once again grappling with one of the most visible consequences of climate stress in European forests: large volumes of spruce damaged by bark beetle.
The German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association, DeSH, has called for urgent action to expand storage capacity for damaged spruce across the country, following the publication of new recommendations on how salvaged material should be stored and used.
The issue is far from marginal. Research highlighted by DeSH shows that hundreds of thousands of hectares of German spruce forest have been affected by the spruce bark beetle, creating serious financial pressure for forest owners, processors and the wider timber supply chain.
At the centre of the latest guidance is the NUKAFI project, formally titled Investigations into the Material Utilization Potential and Storage Options for Spruce Damaged Timber. The collaborative research project, run through Germany’s Agency for Renewable Resources, examined how damaged spruce can still be retained as a usable raw material when handled correctly.
Its new guidance, Handling Spruce Damaged Timber, is aimed at forest owners, forestry companies and wood-processing businesses, offering practical recommendations on how to manage damaged timber before quality loss becomes too severe.
One of the key findings is that severely damaged trees, known as deadwood stands, can remain in the forest for a limited period depending on weather conditions. However, the clock is ticking. After roughly two years, processing options for sawmills and timber businesses become sharply reduced as quality deteriorates and production disruption increases.
That makes storage a critical part of the response. The methods set out in the guidance are intended to help stagger harvesting, marketing and processing, preserving wood quality over a longer period and reducing pressure on the market when large volumes of damaged timber become available at once.
The guidance also makes clear that storage is not a simple fix. Occupational safety, potential quality losses, logistics, monitoring and control all need to be managed carefully if damaged timber is to remain a commercially useful resource.
For DeSH, the technical recommendations are only part of the answer. Julia Möbus, Managing Director of DeSH, said: “Science has shown the way – now it’s up to policymakers.” “We need to expand storage capacities nationwide. The federal government, states, and municipalities must work together and develop a joint action plan for disaster management.”
The central challenge is how to make effective use of large volumes of damaged timber before value is lost. For Germany’s sawmilling sector, storage capacity is now directly tied to wood quality, processing efficiency and the ability to turn a forest health crisis into usable material rather than wasted resource.
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