Our colleagues from RTL recently spoke to members of environmental organisation Mouvement Ecologique and representatives of the Nature and Forest Agency about the current state of Luxembourg's forests.

Same as everywhere, trees in the Grand Duchy are suffering under the elevated temperatures and lack of rain. Although no major forest fires have occurred this summer, the first consequences of the dry conditions are still starting to become visible.

The Nature and Forest Agency and Mouvement Ecologique are now drawing attention to the poor conditions of Luxembourg's woodlands. Dry spells may not be an entirely novel phenomenon, but the frequency at which they appear has increased in recent years.

And they leave traces, emphasises Roger Schauls, spokesman for Mouvement Ecologique: "The conditions of our forests are catastrophic, which is also reflected in the numbers. The inventory made in spring indicates that one in 100 common beeches is healthy, which is just horrible. The state of the other tree species is not much better. Common spruces, for instance, are estimated to have completely vanished in five to six years."

The Nature and Forest Agency has arrived at similar conclusions. Officials are currently examining the conditions of the country's woodlands and have already found drought-related damages.

Chief operator Martine Neuberg provided insight: "The first thing you can see is that leaves have curled up, an evident sign of stress. The next thing is discolouring, a protection mechanism that old trees trigger in their crowns to shed and spend less energy on photosynthesis."

Both organisations agree that the stressed state of trees cannot be considered a consequence of this summer alone, but rather the result of consecutive warm and dry summers.

Schauls warned that human beings will suffer grave and unthinkable consequences if the forests, an essential part of our ecosystem, no longer function properly: "Forests cool the climate significantly. No forest means further and accelerated heating of our planet. It means losing an ally in our effort to fight climate change."

Neuberg firmly believes that heat and dry conditions will change the forests in the years to come: "Things will change as species will no longer be able to survive. However, it is not the case that all trees will die. There are always some that are more resistant."