Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe

Changes in forest disturbance affect their sustainability. This study finds that between 1986 and 2016, 36 million disturbances by humans or other causes affected 17% of Europe's forest area. 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 km(2)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.

Automated summary

Changes in forest disturbance can have significant impacts on forests, with this study finding that 17% of Europe's forest area was affected by approximately 36 million disturbances between 1986 and 2016. The majority of disturbances were stand-replacing, and while disturbance size trends varied, disturbance frequency consistently increased while disturbance severity decreased over time. The study provides valuable spatial information for understanding the ongoing changes in Europe's forests.