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Extreme weather takes toll on long suffering Swiss forests

The Swiss forest has suffered greatly over the last ten years
The Swiss forest has suffered greatly over the last ten years Keystone-SDA

Swiss forests have suffered greatly from extreme events such as heat, drought, storms and pests over the past decade.

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Forests are under pressure, and even in a critical state in some places, according to the Forest Report 2025 published on Tuesday.

+ Biodiversity loss in Switzerland in six graphs

According to the report, which was presented by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the number of extreme weather events has increased over the last ten years, mainly as a result of climate change.

In some regions, notably the Jura, the state of the forest is considered “critical”, according to the authors of this report, which is drawn up every ten years.

In order to continue to fulfil its functions for the benefit of humans and the environment, the forest must be adapted to climate change.

On a positive note, forest biodiversity has improved slightly, with an increase in the number of forest birds, molluscs and mosses.

Translated from French with DeepL/mga

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