In Greece’s southern Peloponnese, vast swathes of normally resilient fir forest are turning brown and dying – even in areas untouched by fire. Scientists say the damage signals a deeper ecological crisis driven by climate change.
Greek firs, long considered among the country’s hardiest trees, have historically withstood drought, pests and periodic wildfires. But when forest researcher Dimitrios Avtzis surveyed a recent fire site, he found something alarming: hundreds of hectares of dead and dying trees well beyond the burn zone.
The cause, experts say, is a dangerous combination of prolonged drought, declining winter snowfall and insect outbreaks. Greece has been steadily losing snow cover, reducing slow-release moisture that trees depend on. As soils dry and groundwater shrinks, weakened firs become vulnerable to bark beetles, which bore under the bark and disrupt the trees’ water and nutrient systems. Once beetle populations surge, forests can collapse rapidly.
Similar patterns are now appearing across southern Europe, suggesting this is not a local anomaly but part of a wider shift linked to climate breakdown.
There is some hope. Mediterranean forests can regenerate after fires, but recovery is slow and uneven, often taking years. Researchers stress that urgent government action and funding are needed to manage beetle outbreaks and support forest resilience.
“We have the knowledge and the tools,” Avtzis says. “What matters now is whether we act – because what we’re seeing will only become more frequent and more severe.”
