Accounting for forest condition in Europe based on an international statistical standard

This paper presents a spatially explicit assessment of the condition of forest ecosystems in Europe using the United Nations' System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) standard. The study measures forest condition on a scale of 0–1, with 0 representing a degraded ecosystem and 1 representing a reference condition. Findings indicate an average condition of 0.566 in 2000, increasing to 0.585 in 2018. While forest productivity and connectivity are comparable to undisturbed forests, one-third of the forest area showed declining condition, primarily due to reductions in soil organic carbon, tree cover density, and threatened bird species richness. The authors conclude that further restoration, improved management, and extended recovery periods are needed to achieve natural forest conditions.

Joachim Maes, Adrián G. Bruzón, José I. Barredo, Sara Vallecillo, Peter Vogt, Inés Marí Rivero, Fernando Santos-Martín