Is the spruce part of the near-natural forest in southern and eastern Westphalia?

The spruce grows in North Rhine-Westphalia on approx. 252,000 hectares of forest and is particularly dominant in the montane areas. Hurricane-related forest damage, especially to the montane spruce stands, caused a rethinking of forest use plans. The main focus is on more stable mixed forests almost without the participation of spruce, because this is no longer considered appropriate to the site. But is this assumption correct? This thesis investigates whether the spruce has been a natural part of the North Rhine-Westphalian forests since the end of the last glacial period - the Vistula glacial period ended about 12,000 years ago. The answer to this question can only be historically proven. Pollen analyzes describe the forest composition of the past. Other parts of trees are rarely preserved in bogs or sediments and their finds can hardly be evaluated statistically.