How are European forest ecosystems doing?

To sustain their multiple services, forests must be both resistant and resilient. Resistance refers to a forest's ability to resist or withstand external pressures such as pests, disease or natural disturbances. Resilience refers to a forest's ability to recover and adapt after a disturbance. Maintaining healthy forests requires a combination of strategies, including sustainable management practices, landscape-scale planning, and proactive efforts to address the impacts of climate change. This way, forests can continue to provide the many benefits that society depends on, both now and in the future.

Key Messages of this report include:

•  The current state of European forests is a mixed picture of improvement and deterioration.

• The tree canopy mortality rate has doubled since the late 20th century. It is equivalent to 1%

  of the EU-27 forest area dying yearly.

• Forest health monitoring at the European level estimates that one out of four trees shows moderately to severely damaging levels of defoliation. It also reveals that defoliation is increasing, which points to a critical condition.

• The average damage from natural and human-made disturbances to total timber volume amount to a loss of about 79 million m3 annually, corresponding to 16% of the EU's annual wood harvest.

• Recent management practices have been somewhat effective in improving forest conditions. For example, about 42% of forests exhibit improvements in deadwood volume, forest area, biomass volume and productivity.