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Analysis October 2023: Climate change and tonewood

2023-09-15T08:31:00

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The past summer has seen catastrophic heatwaves strike almost all of Europe. What effect have they had on the forests of spruce and maple that tonewood dealers depend on?

The recent pan-European heatwave has placed new pressures on suppliers of tonewood for musical instruments. Competition from China, inflation and global economic instability have already led some suppliers to quit the trade. But climate change is further turning up the heat. The conditions pose a threat to an already precarious supply of the premium aged European maple prized by luthiers, as well as the condition of spruce forests, which have historically been a more accessible and carefully managed tonewood asset across central Europe…

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