Assessing forest availability for wood supply in Europe

Area of Science:

• Forestry Science
• Forest Resource Management
• Environmental Economics

Background:

• Accurate quantification of forests available for wood supply (FAWS) is vital for forest resource management and understanding their role in the global carbon cycle.
• Harmonized forest statistics are essential for developing effective forest policies and supporting informed decision-making processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and compare the areas and aboveground dry biomass (AGB) of FAWS and forests not available for wood supply (FNAWS) across 13 European countries.
• To analyze the restrictions and thresholds used nationally to classify forests as FAWS or FNAWS.
• To evaluate the consistency and applicability of a reference definition for FAWS in European countries.

Main Methods:

• Utilized National Forest Inventory (NFI) data from 13 European countries.
• Quantified areas and aboveground dry biomass (AGB) for FAWS and FNAWS.
• Determined national and reference definitions, analyzing restrictions (economic, environmental) and their thresholds.

Main Results:

• FAWS constitute 75-95% of forest area and AGB in most studied countries.
• Economic restrictions (profitability, slope, accessibility) are the primary factors limiting FNAWS (67% of area, 56% of AGB), followed by environmental restrictions (e.g., protected areas).
• An overlap of 13.7% was found among different restriction types for FNAWS.
• Differences in FNAWS area and AGB estimates between national and reference definitions were generally small (0-5%) across countries.

Conclusions:

• The study confirms the applicability and reliability of a reference definition for FAWS in most European countries.
• This harmonization facilitates consistent assessment of forests available for wood supply for international reporting purposes.
• Understanding the drivers of FNAWS is crucial for sustainable forest management and policy development.