Kyrill Windthrow Area – Šumava National Park

A rather barren landscape and an example of a forest that is left to itself. Pure nature.

It swept through the Bavarian Forest on January 18th and especially on the night of January 19th 2007: the winter hurricane "Kyrill". Many still remember that night when window panes shattered and gardens were devastated. The destruction was worst in many forests: "Kyrill" had cut entire swathes here, especially in the higher mountain areas. Large, hundred-year-old spruce trees lay on the ground, criss-crossed over one another, as if a giant had played Mikado with the trees. Many Bavarian Forest residents were stunned at the sight of these apparently dead forests.The now rare capercaillie is one of the animal species that has clearly benefited from the large windfall. Its habitat has improved. The population has therefore increased measurably. A really dense spruce forest in the higher elevations has been lost, some of which was 120 to 140 years old. But nothing better could have happened for the capercaillie, because a capercaillie needs these open spaces.Other animal species have also benefited, for example the tree pipit, the common redstart and woodpeckers. Rare insect species, mosses and lichens live where fallen tree trunks have been left lying and are now slowly rotting on the ground.Dense grass areas in the forest mean that young trees can no longer get through so easily. That is why they are normally not welcome. In the Bavarian Forest National Park, research is being carried out on some windthrow areas where no one even cleared up after "Kyrill". Despite this, a relatively large number of young spruce trees are growing on the areas, although they are very scattered and of different ages. The researchers now see this as an advantage for the future.
Source: br.de/nachrichten/bayern/orkan-kyrill-und-die-hoffnung-auf-neue-waelder,Tr9gl7K

When I see this picture of nature, post-apocalyptic images keep coming to mind.