POSTCARD N.31 -  Germany

Postcrossing postcard posted inside cover #36, on the 31st August; received on the 4th September (from 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
Postcard image: The countryside of Sauerland
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Tina, whom I thank for this nice card, writes me from Attendorn, and tells me that sprue trees that constitute 59% of the many forests of Sauerland have been greatly affected by climate change what led to many former forested hills being now bare. I read elsewhere that climate change effects translate not only in prolonged draught, but also in infestation by the bark beetle, a coleopter that decimates trees by eating the phloem and thus hidering the capacity of the plant to nurish itself.

Hopefully the reforestation efforts that Tina tells me are being put together will, in time, see the hills of Sauerland full of healthy sprues and other trees again. Much the same happens in my own country, not with bark beetles (even though we have problems with the pine nematode and processionary moths) but with forest fires. Though most of them have their causes in human action, draught and high temperatures (and also the exaggerated use of intensive monoculture of exotic species like the eucalyptus) create the perfect conditions for the horrors that have left a dark mark on many of our summers....

Climate change is to be taken seriously and we're loosing so much time....