Assessing forest availability for wood supply in Europe

The quantification of forests available for wood supply (FAWS) is essential for decision-making with regard to the maintenance and enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to the global carbon cycle. The provision of harmonized forest statistics is necessary for the development of forest associated policies and to support decision-making. Based on the National Forest Inventory (NFI) data from 13 European countries, we quantify and compare the areas and aboveground dry biomass (AGB) of FAWS and forest not available for wood supply (FNAWS) according to national and reference definitions by determining the restrictions and associated thresholds considered at country level to classify forests as FAWS or FNAWS. FAWS represent between 75 and 95 % of forest area and AGB for most of the countries in this study. Economic restrictions are the main factor limiting the availability of forests for wood supply, accounting for 67 % of the total FNAWS area and 56 % of the total FNAWS AGB, followed by environmental restrictions. Profitability, slope and accessibility as economic restrictions, and protected areas as environmental restrictions are the factors most frequently considered to distinguish between FAWS and FNAWS. With respect to the area of FNAWS associated with each type of restriction, an overlap among the restrictions of 13.7 % was identified. For most countries, the differences in the FNAWS areas and AGB estimates between national and reference definitions ranged from 0 to 5 %. These results highlight the applicability and reliability of a FAWS reference definition for most of the European countries studied, thereby facilitating a consistent approach to assess forests available for supply for the purpose of international reportinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Harmonised statistics and maps of forest biomass and increment in Europe.

peer reviewedForest biomass is an essential resource in relation to the green transition and its assessment is key for the sustainable management of forest resources. Here, we present a forest biomass dataset for Europe based on the best available inventory and satellite data, with a higher level of harmonisation and spatial resolution than other existing data. This database provides statistics and maps of the forest area, biomass stock and their share available for wood supply in the year 2020, and statistics on gross and net volume increment in 2010-2020, for 38 European countries. The statistics of most countries are available at a sub-national scale and are derived from National Forest Inventory data, harmonised using common reference definitions and estimation methodology, and updated to a common year using a modelling approach. For those counties without harmonised statistics, data were derived from the State of Europe's Forest 2020 Report at the national scale. The maps are coherent with the statistics and depict the spatial distribution of the forest variables at 100 m resolution

Preparing emission reporting from forests : use of National Forest Inventories in European countries

We examine the current status of greenhouse gas inventories of the sector Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), in European countries, with specific focus on the utilization of National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. LULUCF inventory is an integral part of the reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. The analysis is based on two questionnaires prepared by the COST Action E43 “Harmonisation of National Forest Inventories in Europe”, which were answered by greenhouse gas reporting experts in European countries. The following major conclusions can be drawn from the analysis: 1) definitions used to obtain carbon pool change estimates vary widely among countries and are not directly comparable 2) NFIs play a key role for LULUCF greenhouse gas estimation and reporting under UNFCCC, and provide the fundamental data needed for the estimation of carbon stock changes covering not only living biomass, but increasingly also deadwood, litter and soil compartments. The study highlights the effects of adopting different definitions for two major reporting processes, namely UNFCCC and FAO, and exemplifies the effect of different tree diameter thresholds on carbon stock change estimates for Finland. The results demonstrate that more effort is needed to harmonize forest inventory estimates for the purpose of making the estimates of forest carbon pool changes comparable. This effort should lead to a better utilization of the data from the European NFI programs and improve the European greenhouse gas reporting

Towards harmonized assessment of European forest availability for wood supply in Europe

The supply of wood in Europe on a sustainable basis is highly relevant for forestry and related policies, particularly in relation to (i) analysing global change mitigation strategies and carbon accounting (ii) establishing realistic forecasts and targets for wood resources, biomass and renewable energy and (iii) assessing and supporting strategies for an increased use of wood. Therefore, it is relevant to have robust information of the availability for wood supply. The main aim of this paper is to harmonize the concept of ‘forest available for wood supply’ (FAWS) at European level. The data employed in this study was acquired through two questionnaires. The first questionnaire, conducted under the framework of COST Action FP1001 and a second questionnaire was completed by national correspondents and members of the UNECE/FAO. The analysis showed that reasons for the exclusion of forest from FAWS are diverse. Legal restrictions and specifically ´Protected areas´ are considered by 79% of the countries while very few countries consider economic restrictions. A new FAWS reference definition is provided and the consequences of using this new definition in eight European countries were analysed. Application of the proposed definition will increase consistency and comparability of data on FAWS and will result in decreasing the area of FAWS at a European level.publishedVersio

Harmonisation of Data and Information on the Potential Supply of Wood Resources

eISBN 9783319440156The main objective of COST Action Usewood was to improve and harmonise data and information from National Forest Inventories (NFIs) on the potential supply of wood resources at European level considering the actual extent. This will improve the quality of data available to describe wood resources and possible wood uses. Such high quality information could be used for future scenario modelling and help inform political decision making for the renewable energy sector. The harmonisation of NFIs is based on reference definitions . Four different topics in terms of wood supply are covered and described in this chapter: forest available for wood supply, change estimation , stem quality, other wooded land and trees outside forest. These definitions will enable data comparison between countries and consequently, this will imply a transparent, comprehensive and robust information for decision-makingLietuvos Valstybinė miškų tarnybaVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Conditions and prospects for increasing forest yield in Northern Europe

Layout: Anne Siika/MetlaForests will play a crucial role in the transformation from an economy based on fossil fuels to one relying on renewable resources. Hence, besides being a source of raw material for the forest industry, in the future, forests are expected to increasingly contribute to the production of energy as well as providing a wide range of environmental and social services. Thus, the objective of the present study is to assess the short-term and long-term potential for increasing sustainable wood supply in the EFINORD countries. Present practices and prospects for intensive forest management have been assessed using information from a questionnaire complemented by compilation and evaluating of national forest inventory (NFI) data and other forest sector relevant information. The study indicates a striking variation in the intensity of utilisation of the wood resources within the EFINORD region. For the region as a whole, there seems to be a substantial unused (biophysical) potential. However, recent NFI data from some countries indicate that annual felling rates can be underestimated. If felling rates are higher than currently recognised then, given the increased demand for wood-based energy, there appears to be a need to discuss strategies for large-scale implementation of more intensive forestry practices to ensure that the availability of wood resources in the future can meet an increasing demand in the EFINORD countries

Overview of methods and tools for evaluating future woody biomass availability in European countries

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Harmonised statistics and maps of forest biomass and increment in Europe

Abstract Forest biomass is an essential resource in relation to the green transition and its assessment is key for the sustainable management of forest resources. Here, we present a forest biomass dataset for Europe based on the best available inventory and satellite data, with a higher level of harmonisation and spatial resolution than other existing data. This database provides statistics and maps of the forest area, biomass stock and their share available for wood supply in the year 2020, and statistics on gross and net volume increment in 2010–2020, for 38 European countries. The statistics of most countries are available at a sub-national scale and are derived from National Forest Inventory data, harmonised using common reference definitions and estimation methodology, and updated to a common year using a modelling approach. For those counties without harmonised statistics, data were derived from the State of Europe’s Forest 2020 Report at the national scale. The maps are coherent with the statistics and depict the spatial distribution of the forest variables at 100 m resolution