New tool to measure the health of European forests

Writing / Irene Vega

The results of the scientific study, recently published in Nature Communications. and titled "Accounting for forest condition in Europe based on an international statistical standard", have shed light on the state and trends of forest ecosystems in Europe. This research, led by Joachim Maes, Adrián G. Bruzón, José I. Barredo, Sara Vallecillo, Peter Vogt, Inés Marí Rivero and Fernando Santos-Martín , is based on a spatially explicit assessment of the condition of European forests, following a global United Nations statistical standard adopted in March 2021.

With 35% of Europe's land area covered by forest ecosystems, they play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change. However, forest degradation continues to undermine the services that these ecosystems offer to society.

The study measures forest condition on a scale of 0 to 1, where 0 represents a degraded ecosystem and 1 represents a reference condition based on primary or protected forests. The results reveal that the average condition of the 44 forest types studied has increased slightly (from 0.566 in 2000 to 0.585 in 2018). However, a worrying sign is that approximately one-third of the forest area shows a trend of declining condition, indicated by a reduction in soil organic carbon, tree cover density and threatened bird species richness.

The findings suggest the need for continued forest restoration, improvements in forest management and an extended recovery period to approach natural conditions. This study provides valuable information for decision-makers, conservationists and all those interested in the health of European forests and their impact on the global environment. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of taking proactive measures to protect and restore forests.