The largest proportion of global wildfires—both in terms of number and area affected—occur in grasslands, savannas, and other open landscapes, particularly in Africa and Australia, as well as in South Asia and South America. Approximately 20% of these fires are wildfires and clearing fires in forest ecosystems (BeSafeNet 2024). These relative and, above all, absolute figures are based on the analysis of satellite-based remote sensing data and vary over the years. Various portals operated by public and private institutions provide access to real-time data and data archives (GFMC Remote Sensing Portal). While landscape fires (excluding agricultural wildfires) covered an annual average of approximately 680 million hectares (ha) (6.8 million square kilometers) during the last two decades of the 20th century, this figure has decreased in recent years: In 2025, the figure was approximately 335 million ha (GFMC Global Landscape Fire Damage Reports).

However, statistics for the European Union show an increase in burned areas in recent years. In particular, more than 1 million ha of landscape fires were recorded in 2025 (EFFIS 2026) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Wildfires in the 27 EU Member States, 2010–2025 (EFFIS 2026).

Wildfires are also becoming an increasing challenge in Germany. The approximately 11.4 million hectares of forest—which account for about 30% of Germany’s total land area—are increasingly at risk from fires, particularly due to the rise in prolonged dry spells and heat waves caused by the climate crisis. In addition to forests, open landscapes such as heathlands and dried-out wetlands are also affected by fires, which have a significant impact on biodiversity. In Germany, too, the causes of wildfires are diverse. About 96% of fires are caused by humans, with negligence and arson being the main causes.

In Germany, statistical data is collected exclusively for forested areas. The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) evaluates the annual reports from the states and the federal government (BLE Forest Fire Statistics). Data is available for this period from the 1970s through 2025. Looking back over the last two decades, there has been an increase in the number of affected forest stands since 2018 (Fig. 2). However, these figures may also include individual non-forest areas, such as the reported forest fire areas in Gohrischheide in 2025. Approximately one-quarter of the recorded burned areas consist of non-forest areas.

Fig. 2. Wildfires in Germany, 2007–2025 (BLE 2026)

Since the extent of fires in open areas (all vegetation types outside forested areas, including nature reserves) and on agricultural land is not statistically recorded, satellite data can be analyzed as an alternative (EFFIS 2026; Our World in Data 2026). To date, this data has not been available with the same level of accuracy as the forest fire areas measured on the ground, since, for example, EFFIS only accounts for fires larger than 30 ha. Consequently, in countries where many forest fires on areas smaller than 30 ha are brought under control, this satellite data provides an incomplete picture. However, they do reveal the magnitude of open-land fires, which in some years far exceed the area of forest fires (Figs. 3 and 4).

Fig. 4. Areas of open country affected by fires in Germany from 2007 to 2022, based on various Earth observation systems and compared with forest fire data from the BLE. These data also show that, in some years, open-country fires in Germany are more extensive than forest fires (Our World in Data 2026).

Although deciduous forests—especially beech forests—were historically considered less susceptible to fire than coniferous forests, they are now increasingly at risk of fire due to drought damage (GFMC / G20-Bericht Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2023) (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5. Forest fires in Germany, 2007–2025, by forest type (coniferous forests / deciduous forests) (BLE 2026)

While “nature-based forest management” aims to promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration, the increasing accumulation of deadwood and limited accessibility to protected forests have led to fires of greater intensity and severity, as seen in Saxon Switzerland National Park and Harz National Park in 2022. During and after the 2022 fire season, these fires sparked a public debate—at times a contentious one—regarding the assessment and mitigation of wildfire risk through the abandonment of sustainable forest management practices, limited access to forests, and the retention of deadwood (GFMC 2023).

According to Germany’s wildfire statistics, the damage to forest stands recorded by the federal and state governments averages €1.9 million annually for the years 1991 through 2025 and approximately €4.4 million for 2025 (BLE Waldbrandstatistik). Damage assessments from fires on agricultural land and in adjacent settlements are not systematically recorded—though individual examples indicate significant damage. The costs of firefighting primarily include compensation for lost wages paid by employers or to self-employed members of volunteer fire departments, which are reimbursed by the municipality or the fire department’s sponsoring agency in accordance with state regulations. These costs are not statistically tracked at the national level; according to GFMC estimates, they can exceed tens of millions in cases of major fires.

Fig. 8. Fire in a young mixed stand of pine and birch

Fig. 9. A fire spreading through a mixed landscape of forest, fields, and farmsteads

The effects of wildfires extend beyond the ecosystems of natural and cultural landscapes to include biogeochemical cycles and, consequently, the climate-relevant composition of the atmosphere (Fig. 7). The degradation of ecosystems that were originally rich in biomass into impoverished sites, caused by fire and climate change, results in the release of carbon into the atmosphere or its sequestration in soils and sediments. Particularly problematic for the destruction of ecosystems and the disruption of local, regional, and global climates is the conversion of natural forest ecosystems and wetlands through clearing, drainage, and the subsequent burning of plant biomass. This conversion to other land uses—such as agro-industrial plantations or pastureland—not only leads to significant losses of biodiversity but also to the release of carbon previously stored in terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere. For example, a tropical rainforest can store between 300 and 700 metric tons of carbon in its trees, other vegetation, and soil. After “forest burning” and conversion to pastureland in the tropics, only 50 to 150 metric tons remain stored—the difference then mathematically contributes to an increase in the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. However, if, for example, forests are allowed to regenerate naturally or are reforested after a wildfire and restored to their original state over the course of the forest ecosystem’s life cycle, the carbon that was previously emitted is sequestered again (DIE ZEIT 2021).

Research for Practical Application

The basic research in fire ecology initiated at the University of Freiburg in 1974 led to the establishment of the Fire Ecology Research Group in 1979, which increasingly focused on application-oriented issues in the 1980s and 1990s, primarily on the introduction of controlled burning in nature conservation (GFMC 2014) and the transfer of knowledge into practice (GFMC 2025). Following the research group’s transition to the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in 1990, the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) was established, which is dedicated to researching the regional and global impacts of wildfires and transferring this knowledge to policy and practice (Fire Ecology Research Group, GFMC, GFMC-Conferences). Starting in 2020, numerous time-limited research projects were launched in Germany at various universities and other research institutions. In particular, 22 research and modeling projects were funded by the Forest Climate Fund, which is jointly financed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Home Affairs (BMLEH) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) (FNR 2020).

The use of fire in open areas and forests is largely restricted or prohibited by the Federal Nature Conservation Act and, in greater detail, by state laws and regulations (state laws and regulations concerning nature conservation, pollution control, forests, and waste disposal). Exceptions are possible when the use of controlled burns to preserve habitats of high conservation value is in the public interest, is authorized or carried out by the authorities, and is compatible with the objectives of nature conservation and landscape management (GFMC 2004). Experience in Germany (GFMC 2009, GFMC 2014) and in Central and Northern Europe demonstrates extensive experience and success in the application of science-based methods (GFMC 2010).

Fig. 12. Species-rich dwarf shrub heaths and inland dunes on former military sites are prone to reforestation in the absence of mechanical disturbances or fire.

This primarily affects the approximately 680,000 ha of active and former military training and firing ranges—representing just under 2% of Germany’s total land area. Of this, 646,000 hectares are relevant from a nature conservation perspective, and 316,000 hectares are classified as FFH areas – of which up to 250,000 hectares are contaminated with munitions (David Nature Foundation). On many training grounds, “ecological disturbances”—primarily caused by vehicles, shelling, and fires resulting from military use—have led to the development of open-land habitats that are valuable from a nature conservation perspective. These include, for example, species-rich heathlands and sandy nutrient-poor grasslands, which were once widespread but have been increasingly displaced by intensive land use and have found their last refuges on land used for military purposes.

Based on a research and development project, a method was developed between 2006 and 2014 that enables the use of controlled burning to preserve threatened dwarf shrub heathlands on sites contaminated with unexploded ordnance and, at the same time, to clear such ordnance in the long term using safe technology (GFMC). This method is not being implemented in the federal states, meaning that fires at these sites remain difficult to control. This is particularly the case when, as part of the biodiversity strategy, wilderness areas are designated at these sites, in which case explosive ordnance can no longer be cleared. Since the biodiversity strategy also calls for the preservation of biodiversity tied to the cultural landscape, the conservation value of open-land ecosystems should continue to be prioritized (see also the David Nature Foundation).

Fig. 13. Controlled burning to preserve dwarf shrub heaths by suppressing reforestation

Fig. 14. Once unexploded ordnance has been exposed through controlled burning, it can be detonated on site or removed.

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Created: July 2026

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