IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-39434-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Joachim Maes

    (European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
    European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

  • Adrián G. Bruzón

    (Rey Juan Carlos University)

  • José I. Barredo

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

  • Sara Vallecillo

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

  • Peter Vogt

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

  • Inés Marí Rivero

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

  • Fernando Santos-Martín

    (Rey Juan Carlos University)

Abstract

Covering 35% of Europe’s land area, forest ecosystems play a crucial role in safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Yet, forest degradation continues to undermine key ecosystem services that forests deliver to society. Here we provide a spatially explicit assessment of the condition of forest ecosystems in Europe following a United Nations global statistical standard on ecosystem accounting, adopted in March 2021. We measure forest condition on a scale from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a degraded ecosystem and 1 represents a reference condition based on primary or protected forests. We show that the condition across 44 forest types averaged 0.566 in 2000 and increased to 0.585 in 2018. Forest productivity and connectivity are comparable to levels observed in undisturbed or least disturbed forests. One third of the forest area was subject to declining condition, signalled by a reduction in soil organic carbon, tree cover density and species richness of threatened birds. Our findings suggest that forest ecosystems will need further restoration, improvements in management and an extended period of recovery to approach natural conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Joachim Maes & Adrián G. Bruzón & José I. Barredo & Sara Vallecillo & Peter Vogt & Inés Marí Rivero & Fernando Santos-Martín, 2023. "Accounting for forest condition in Europe based on an international statistical standard," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39434-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39434-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39434-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-39434-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cornelius Senf & Rupert Seidl, 2021. "Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 63-70, January.
    2. Cornelius Senf & Rupert Seidl, 2021. "Author Correction: Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(3), pages 286-286, March.
    3. Matias Heino & Matti Kummu & Marika Makkonen & Mark Mulligan & Peter H Verburg & Mika Jalava & Timo A Räsänen, 2015. "Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-21, October.
    4. Edens, Bram & Maes, Joachim & Hein, Lars & Obst, Carl & Siikamaki, Juha & Schenau, Sjoerd & Javorsek, Marko & Chow, Julian & Chan, Jessica Ying & Steurer, Anton & Alfieri, Alessandra, 2022. "Establishing the SEEA Ecosystem Accounting as a global standard," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Tomislav Hengl & Jorge Mendes de Jesus & Gerard B M Heuvelink & Maria Ruiperez Gonzalez & Milan Kilibarda & Aleksandar Blagotić & Wei Shangguan & Marvin N Wright & Xiaoyuan Geng & Bernhard Bauer-Marsc, 2017. "SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-40, February.
    6. Salvatore Greco & Alessio Ishizaka & Menelaos Tasiou & Gianpiero Torrisi, 2019. "On the Methodological Framework of Composite Indices: A Review of the Issues of Weighting, Aggregation, and Robustness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 61-94, January.
    7. Bagstad, Kenneth J. & Ingram, Jane Carter & Shapiro, Carl D. & La Notte, Alessandra & Maes, Joachim & Vallecillo, Sara & Casey, C. Frank & Glynn, Pierre D. & Heris, Mehdi P. & Johnson, Justin A. & Lau, 2021. "Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. István Attila Kocsis & Magdolna Tállai & Ágnes Zsuposné Oláh & Zoltán László & Béla Mokos & Ida Kincses & Evelin Kármen Juhász & Daniel A. Lowy & Zsolt Sándor, 2025. "Unveiling the Transformative Effects of Forest Restoration on the Soil Chemistry and Biology of Sandy Soils in Southern Nyírség, Hungary," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Venter, Zander S. & Czúcz, Bálint & Stange, Erik & Nowell, Megan S. & Simensen, Trond & Immerzeel, Bart & Barton, David N., 2024. "‘Uncertainty audit’ for ecosystem accounting: Satellite-based ecosystem extent is biased without design-based area estimation and accuracy assessment," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Bagstad, Kenneth J. & Balbi, Stefano & Adamo, Greta & Athanasiadis, Ioannis N. & Affinito, Flavio & Willcock, Simon & Magrach, Ainhoa & Hayashi, Kiichiro & Harmáčková, Zuzana V. & Niamir, Aidin & Smet, 2025. "Interoperability for ecosystem service assessments: Why, how, who, and for whom?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Knoke, Thomas & Biber, Peter & Schula, Tobias & Fibich, Jonathan & Gang, Benjamin, 2025. "Minimising the relative regret of future forest landscape compositions: The role of close-to-nature stand types," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Comte, Adrien & Sylvie Campagne, C. & Lange, Sabine & Bruzón, Adrián García & Hein, Lars & Santos-Martín, Fernando & Levrel, Harold, 2022. "Ecosystem accounting: Past scientific developments and future challenges," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    2. Zefeng Chen & Weiguang Wang & Giovanni Forzieri & Alessandro Cescatti, 2024. "Transition from positive to negative indirect CO2 effects on the vegetation carbon uptake," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Fuchs, Jasper M. & v. Bodelschwingh, Hilmar & Lange, Alexander & Paul, Carola & Husmann, Kai, 2022. "Quantifying the consequences of disturbances on wood revenues with Impulse Response Functions," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Gaglio, M. & Lanzoni, M. & Cavicchi, D. & Turolla, E. & Vincenzi, F. & Soana, E. & Castaldelli, G., 2024. "Ecosystem accounting applied to the restoration of a brackish coastal lagoon highlights the importance of individual ecosystem-level studies," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Cornelius Senf & Rupert Seidl & Thomas Knoke & Tommaso Jucker, 2025. "Taylor’s law predicts unprecedented pulses of forest disturbance under global change," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-7, December.
    6. Rupert Seidl & Cornelius Senf, 2024. "Changes in planned and unplanned canopy openings are linked in Europe’s forests," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-6, December.
    7. Olga Bogdanov & Veljko Jeremiæ & Sandra Jednak & Mladen Èudanov, 2019. "Scrutinizing the Smart City Index: a multivariate statistical approach," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 37(2), pages 777-799.
    8. Mariateresa Ciommi & Chiara Gigliarano & Francesco M. Chelli & Mauro Gallegati, 2022. "It is the Total that Does [Not] Make the Sum: Nature, Economy and Society in the Equitable and Sustainable Well-Being of the Italian Provinces," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 491-522, June.
    9. Rajko Tomaš, 2022. "Measurement of the Concentration of Potential Quality of Life in Local Communities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 79-109, August.
    10. Aleksandra Maksimovska & Aleksandar Stojkov, 2019. "Composite Indicator of Social Responsiveness of Local Governments: An Empirical Mapping of the Networked Community Governance Paradigm," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 669-706, July.
    11. Yanjie Jiang & Xiaodi Ding, 2025. "Exploring the Nexus Between Ecosystem Services and Economic Sustainability: A Stakeholder Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 3639-3658, May.
    12. Panagiotis Ravanos & Giannis Karagiannis, 2023. "Correction: A VEA Benefit-of-the-Doubt Model for the HDI," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 793-796, November.
    13. Nina Tiel & Fabian Fopp & Philipp Brun & Johan Hoogen & Dirk Nikolaus Karger & Cecilia M. Casadei & Lisha Lyu & Devis Tuia & Niklaus E. Zimmermann & Thomas W. Crowther & Loïc Pellissier, 2024. "Regional uniqueness of tree species composition and response to forest loss and climate change," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Elliott R. Dossou-Yovo & Sander J. Zwart & Amadou Kouyaté & Ibrahima Ouédraogo & Oladele Bakare, 2018. "Predictors of Drought in Inland Valley Landscapes and Enabling Factors for Rice Farmers’ Mitigation Measures in the Sudan-Sahel Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    15. Linghua Qiu & Junhao He & Chao Yue & Philippe Ciais & Chunmiao Zheng, 2024. "Substantial terrestrial carbon emissions from global expansion of impervious surface area," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    16. Martín-García, Jaime & Gómez-Limón, José A. & Arriaza, Manuel, 2024. "Conversion to organic farming: Does it change the economic and environmental performance of fruit farms?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    17. Antoine Leblois, 2021. "Mitigating the impact of bad rainy seasons in poor agricultural regions to tackle deforestation," Post-Print hal-03111007, HAL.
    18. Greco, Salvatore & Ishizaka, Alessio & Tasiou, Menelaos & Torrisi, Gianpiero, 2018. "σ-µ efficiency analysis: A new methodology for evaluating units through composite indices," MPRA Paper 83569, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Wabukala, Benard M. & Bergland, Olvar & Mukisa, Nicholas & Adaramola, Muyiwa S. & Watundu, Susan & Orobia, Laura A. & Rudaheranwa, Nichodemus, 2024. "Electricity security in Uganda: Measurement and policy priorities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. Yongjun Tang & Qi Li & Fen Zhou & Mingjia Sun, 2024. "Does Clan Culture Promote Corporate Natural Resource Disclosure? Evidence from Chinese Natural Resource-Based Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 167-190, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39434-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.