In 2025, a total of 57.3 million cubic meters of wood was harvested from German forests. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this represents a decrease of 6.4 percent compared to the previous year’s volume of 61.2 million cubic meters.
This decline was primarily attributed to a significant drop in the harvesting of damaged wood (wood removed due to forest damage). In 2025, 12.7 million cubic meters of damaged wood were cut, marking a decline of 53.7 percent from 2024 (which saw 27.3 million cubic meters). This marks the fifth consecutive year of declining damaged wood harvesting. The proportion of damaged wood relative to the total harvest consequently dropped to 22.1 percent in 2025, a notable decrease from nearly three-quarters (74.8 percent) recorded in the record year of 2020.
Specific damage sources saw substantial reductions. For instance, wood damaged by insects amounted to 7.9 million cubic meters in 2025; this is less than half (53.1 percent) of the amount from the previous year (16.8 million cubic meters) and significantly less than the 43.3 million cubic meters seen in the record year of 2020. Other major causes of damaged wood, such as drought and wind/storms, also showed marked decreases. The amount sourced due to drought fell by 27.7 percent from 2.5 million cubic meters in 2024 to 1.8 million cubic meters in 2025. Similarly, wood affected by wind and storms dropped by 66.7 percent, from 3.5 million cubic meters the previous year to 1.2 million cubic meters.
Regarding wood species, 32.4 million cubic meters of “spruce, Douglas fir, and other coniferous wood” were harvested in 2025. This represents a decrease of 14.3 percent compared to 2024 (37.7 million cubic meters) and 48 percent compared to 2020, which was also a significant year for these types of wood. Despite the decline, spruce remains the most frequently harvested wood type. Pine and larch followed with 13.2 million cubic meters, while hardwood species like beech and others accounted for 9.9 million cubic meters. For oak and red oak, 1.9 million cubic meters were harvested.
The considerably lower harvest volumes compared to the years heavily influenced by bark beetle infestation in 2020 and 2021-both for insect-damaged wood and for spruce-suggests that a large proportion of the damaged trees were already felled and removed from the forest in previous years. Spruce stands are noted as being particularly vulnerable to pests, especially if they have been weakened beforehand by drought or other factors.
The primary use for the harvested wood is as sawlogs for the sawn and plywood industries, such as for pallet or parquet wood. In 2025, 32 million cubic meters-representing 55.9 percent of the total wood harvested-were cut with the intended purpose of sawlogs. Approximately 11.8 million cubic meters (20.6 percent) were earmarked for industrial wood use, serving the wood panel and pulp/paper industries. For energy generation, 10.7 million cubic meters (18.7 percent) were utilized.