European
forest types, a new scheme for classifying Europe’s
forests, is presented today in a report by the
European Environment Agency. The scheme offers
14 new major forest type categories to replace
the previous three categories - deciduous, coniferous
and mixed – used in reporting of forest data.
European forest types will help experts capture
the true ecological conditions in Europe’s forests
and allow better analysis of the great variation
in biodiversity, forest utilisation and other
environmental factors, according to the report.
The new scheme is intended for
international reporting and monitoring of forests
in Europe, according to the Criteria and Indicators
(C&I) for Sustainable Forest Management agreed
within the Ministerial Conference on the Protection
of Forests in Europe (MCPFE). MCPFE comprises
44 European countries and the EU.
Forest data are collected by
National Forest Inventories and reported internationally
to the Forest Resource Assessments of UNECE/FAO.
Data are used for regular reports on the state
of Europe’s forests by MCPFE and the European
Environment Agency. European countries and the
EU will also utilise the scheme to monitor forest
conditions in response to the UNECE Convention
on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.
The scheme has been in development
for almost 10 years, and involved a significant
number of experts under the auspices of the International
Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).
The final classification was synthesised by a
consortium led by the Italian Academy of Forest
Sciences, funded by the European Environment Agency.
European forest types will be
formally discussed within the Ministerial Conference
on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE)
process.
Report: European forest types
