Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: European forests are being shaped by active human use and management, and by harvesting of wood in particular. Yet, our understanding of how forests are harvested across Europe is limited, as the real harvest regimes are not well described by currently available data. Here, we analyse recent harvests, as observed in permanent plots of forest inventories in 11 European countries, totaling to 182,649 plots and covering all major forest types. We (a) characterize harvest regimes through the frequency and intensity of harvest events spatially across Europe, and (b) build models for the probability and intensity of harvest events at the plot‐level and examine the links to potential drivers of harvest, including the pre‐harvest forest structure and composition, climatic, topographic and socio‐economic factors, and past natural disturbances. The results revealed notable variation in harvest regimes across Europe, ranging from high‐frequency and low‐intensity harvests in eastern Central Europe to low‐frequency and high‐intensity harvests in the north, with different strategies emerging in regions with similar total harvest rates. The harvest regimes were strongly driven by country‐level variation, emphasizing the role of national‐level factors. Pre‐harvest forest properties were important drivers for the intensity of harvest, whereas the probability of harvest was more related to socio‐economic factors and natural disturbances. The presented quantification of the forest harvesting regimes provides much needed detail in our understanding of the contemporary forest management practices in Europe, providing a baseline against which to assess future changes in management and strengthening the knowledge‐base for decision‐making on European level.
Source: Earth s Future
DOI: 10.1029/2024ef005225
Authors: Susanne Suvanto, Adriane Esquivel‐Muelbert, Mart‐Jan Schelhaas, Julen Astigarraga, Rasmus Astrup, Emil Cienciala, Jonas Fridman, Helena M. Henttonen, Georges Kunstler, Gerald Kändler, Louis A. König, Paloma Ruiz‐Benito, Cornelius Senf, Golo Stadelmann, Ajdin Starcevic, Andrzej Talarczyk, Miguel A. Zavala, Thomas A. M. Pugh
Institutions: Natural Resources Institute Finland, University of Birmingham, Wageningen University & Research, Universidad de Alcalá, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute, Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Grenoble Alpes, Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, Technical University of Munich, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Lund University
Language: English
Topic: Forest Management and Policy
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,243
Funders: Biodiversa+, Lasy Państwowe, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Vetenskapsrådet, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Norges Forskningsråd, Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Wageningen University and Research, H2020 European Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
Awards: G174197317, Resilient forest value chains – enhancing resilience through natural and socio-economic responses, G2469312114, G4308690702, G434337789, G4373154488, G4484381228, Redefining the carbon sink capacity of global forests: The driving role of tree mortality, G4553152468, G4574863173, G5128876623, G5264103161, G5296751580, Potential of functional diversity for increasing the disturbance resiliency of forests and forest-based socio-ecological systems, Holistic management practices, modelling and monitoring for European forest soils, Co-designing Holistic Forest-based Policy Pathways for Climate Change Mitigation, G6283188699, Forest management-mortality interactions – quantification of management effects on tree mortality and implications for carbon cycling, Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration for forest related biodiversity and ecosystem services, G7473488478, G7491037424, G7540765923, CLImate Mitigation and Bioeconomy pathways for sustainable FORESTry, G985428462
OpenAlex ID: W4407375466