Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe

Cornelius Senf () and Rupert Seidl
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Cornelius Senf: Technical University of Munich
Rupert Seidl: Technical University of Munich

Nature Sustainability, 2021, vol. 4, issue 1, 63-70

Abstract: Abstract Changes in forest disturbances can have strong impacts on forests, yet we lack consistent data on Europe’s forest disturbance regimes and their changes over time. Here we used satellite data to map three decades of forest disturbances across continental Europe, and analysed the patterns and trends in disturbance size, frequency and severity. Between 1986 and 2016, 17% of Europe’s forest area was disturbed by anthropogenic and/or natural causes. We identified 36 million individual disturbance patches with a mean patch size of 1.09 ha, which equals an annual average of 0.52 disturbance patches per km2 of forest area. The majority of disturbances were stand replacing. While trends in disturbance size were highly variable, disturbance frequency consistently increased and disturbance severity decreased. Here we present a continental-scale characterization of Europe’s forest disturbance regimes and their changes over time, providing spatial information that is critical for understanding the ongoing changes in Europe’s forests.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-00609-y

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