The private forest owners in particular were able to increase their timber harvest and utilized the forest on average at the same intensity as the state forestry holdings in the state forests. In the state forests, the timber harvest remains unchanged at 98% of the increment.
In particular the small private forests up to 20 hectares in size, or half of the private forest area of Germany, are used less intensively than the other size classes. The other private forests are more intensively utilized than the state forests.
The timber harvest was influenced by various events during the inventory period. In January 2007, the windstorm Kyrill downed 37 million cubic metres – almost half of an annual cut (Response by the Federal government to a minor interpellation, 9 July 2007, Printed Paper 16/6030).