Forests
Polish firefighters in the field in Hostens (France)
Forests are key to the health of the planet. They regulate the climate and maintain biodiversity. In Europe, forests are the dominant land cover class, and European society relies on its forests for a broad range of ecosystem services. Yet, deforestation and forest degradation are taking place at an alarming rate and are major drivers of global warming and biodiversity loss.
The deforestation free supply chain regulation (EUDR) will enter into application at the end of 2024 whereas a proposal for a regulation on a monitoring framework for resilient European forests (FML) was published at the end 2023. Both the EUDR and forthcoming FML are part of a broader plan of actions within the European Green Deal.
Through its unique technical know-how on geospatial and environmental sciences, the JRC is developing and deploying concrete European Observatory driven applications and monitoring systems in the European and global forestry policy areas for the next green transitions. The JRC’s EU Observatory on deforestation and forest degradation (EUFO) aims to facilitate access to Global and European datasets and tools on status and changes in the world’s forest cover linked to EU demand for commodities and to climate change.
on geospatial and environmental sciences, the JRC is deploying concrete European Observatory driven applications.Through its unique technical know-how
The JRC develops and maintains a series of software packages to help describe and analyse landscape patterns. They include GuidosToolbox, a desktop application with spatial pattern analysis software, and MSPA, a spatial analysis software to detect and describe the morphometric features of digital image objects.
These software packages are designed to analyse spatial properties of forest patches, connectivity and fragmentation at any scale, e.g. by the Eurostat in the Regional Yearbook 2022, Forest Europe State of Europe’s Forests, or by the United Nations in their Global State of Forest Report 2020. Within the policy context, the JRC developed the indicator Forest Connectivity which has been included in the Nature Restoration Law and the 8th Environment Action Programme.
In 2016, the JRC published the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. The distribution of tree species and the composition of forests are highly dependent on climate conditions. Over the course of the 21st century, climate change will alter the bioclimatic conditions for tree growth in Europe, creating new habitats for species to grow in some places, while making existing habitats elsewhere unsuitable. The EU-Trees4F data set models the current and future potential distribution of 67 forest tree species in Europe and incorporates also a scenario in which trees disperse naturally.
The JRC Tropical Moist Forest dataset provides information on changes in forest cover from 1990 up to the year 2023 in the humid tropics. The wall-to-wall maps at 0.09 ha resolution (30m) depict the tropical moist forest extent and the related disturbances (deforestation and degradation), and post-deforestation recovery. The data are used at national, regional or zonal level to monitor and report forest cover changes, e.g. under the Observatory for Central Africa or for the Amazon region.
Recently, the JRC produced a Global Forest Cover map for the year 2020 (GFC2020). This map offers a harmonised and globally consistent view of forest presence and absence, specifically designed to meet the EUDR requirements. The GFC2020 adheres to the EUDR forest definition, ensuring its relevance for initial risk assessments especially in case of absence of alternative or more accurate sources of information. By the end of 2024 GFC2020 will be improved and the JRC will release a preliminary version of a forest type map, enabling an initial risk assessment of forest degradation.
The European Commission is committed to promoting the use of geospatial intelligence, including remote sensing, in Member States to assure environmental compliance. It is also increasing its own capacity to use the technology, including, when appropriate, in infringement procedures. The JRC organised, together with the European Space Agency, the first workshop on the use of remote sensing in the fight against environmental crime. Participants in the workshop discussed how Earth observation-based intelligence enhances the monitoring, inspection, and investigation capacity of national authorities. The JRC also enabled the Commission to use remote sensing to investigate and establish breaches of EU environmental law where forest logging deteriorated the habitat of protected species, such as in the Białowieża Forest Natura 2000 site, and Capercaillie habitats in Slovakia.
