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  • Biodiversity Action Plan Report
  • Biodiversity Baseline report
  • Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators
  • State of the Environment Report
  • The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
 

Folder Forest

 

Forests: Land with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10 percent and area of more than 0.5 ha. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 m at maturity in situ. (UN-ECE/FAO, 2000)

Other wooded land (OWL): Land either with a tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of 5-10 percent of trees able to reach a height of 5 m at maturity in situ; or a crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10 percent of trees not able to reach a height of 5 m at maturity in situ and shrub or bush cover.

 

While 25% of the world’s forests are located in the 46 European countries participating in the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), 80% of European forests occur in the Russian Federation (MCPFE, 2007). Regarding the 38 European countries which are member of or collaborating with the European Environment Agency (EEA), forests today cover 33 % of the land area, which corresponds to 185 million ha (EEA, 2008). In the 27 European Union countries, forests and other wooded land covered 177 million hectares, or 42% of the land area in 2005 (Eurostat, 2008).

Forests are the source of a wide range of services. In the EU27, 80% of biomass energy consumption comes from wood (EEA2008) and the forestry sector’s gross value added was estimated in 2005 at more than 100 billion from forestry, wood and paper industries (EEA2008).

Forests contribute to protect soils from erosion, regulate watersheds and local hydrological system by reducing variation in water flows. They also provide local, regional and global climate regulation, carbon storage, air and freshwater purification. Forests are important biodiversity repositories with the greatest assemblage of species found in any terrestrial ecosystem. Forest ecosystems also supply numerous social and cultural services. 

As a result of various interacting pressures on forest ecosystems in Europe, species and habitats of European interest are threatened. Information gathered as part of the reporting obligations under the Habitats Directive (EC, 2009) show that the conservation status of species and habitats of European interest differs strongly between biogeographical regions in Europe, but altogether more than 50% of species and more than 60% of habitats are in unfavourable conditions. According to the current knowledge, 27 % of Mammals, 10 % of Reptiles and 8% of Amphibians, related to forests have been assessed by IUCN as threatened of extinction at EU level (ETC/BD source 2010, based on IUCN, 2009).

   

Figures from the Biodiversity Baseline report:

   

Further reading:

 

Selected links:

SEBI indicator on forest: growing stock, increment and fellings

SEBI indicator on forest: deadwood

DG Environment on forest

Green paper on forest protection

LIFE projects on forests

FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference on the protection of Forest in Europe

EFDAC European Forest Data Centre

FAO Forestry

EURFORGEN European Forest Genetic Resources Programme