Drought-Induced Forest Decline
#00041
The Sundgau region in southern Alsace is especially vulnerable to drought because it does not sit above the main Alsatian groundwater table. Its forests and water supplies depend almost entirely on rainfall, which has been repeatedly deficient since 2018.
Parent issue
#00040 Drought-Induced Forest Decline
Sustainable Development Goals
Description
Unlike the Rhine plain to the north, the Sundgau's hills and the Jura alsacien rely on small, slow-recharging aquifers fed by surface infiltration. When rainfall drops, the impact is felt quickly and deeply — both by forests and by human communities.
In 2023, the commune of Waldighoffen was placed under reinforced drought alert, and the town of Ferrette had to be supplied with drinking water by tanker trucks after local sources ran dry. Forest trees across the area have suffered visible canopy loss, branch dieback, and mortality. ONF foresters have described feeling powerless in the face of a problem that cannot be solved by forestry techniques alone — as one put it, you cannot irrigate an entire forest.
As of early 2026, winter groundwater recharge in the Sundgau has been deficient, and summer water levels are projected to be significantly lower than in 2025. Without structural changes to how water is retained and managed in the landscape, the forests will continue to decline with each dry summer.