Europe's forests are still standing, but many are losing the ability to recover
A forest can look intact from the roadside and still have lost much of its capacity to bounce back. That gap between appearance and function is at the center of a new policy brief published by eLTER, the European research infrastructure for long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological research.
Despite forests appearing intact to the eye, they often lose considerable abilities to recover, highlighting a gap between visual appearance and functional capacity. Across Europe, forest damage due to drought, storms, wildfires, and pest outbreaks has more than doubled in the last thirty years, with climate-induced damage costing several billion euros annually.
Compound events, such as drought followed by fire or pests, exacerbate losses and slow recovery. The policy brief "Forests at Risk: Measuring and Building Resilience Against Extreme Climate Events" emphasizes that resilience should become a measurable objective in European forest management and policy, rather than an aspiration assessed post-damage.
The summer of 2026 has underscored the issue, with prolonged heat and drought stressing forests, leading to over 630,000 hectares burned by wildfires, double the 20-year average. However, resilience is not merely about remaining standing after a disturbance; it involves maintaining functions, regeneration, and adaptation to changing conditions.
Failure to measure these processes hinders effective management. Forests contribute significantly to carbon absorption, but this capacity weakens with aging stands, increased harvesting, and more frequent disturbances. The brief calls for a broader set of resilience indicators, including recovery capacity, regeneration, structural and functional diversity, landscape connectivity, and species adaptation or migration.
Satellite data can provide early warnings of declining recovery, while monitoring should capture compound disturbances, which are increasingly common and underrepresented. By integrating these factors, policymakers and managers can simulate potential futures and prioritize interventions. Adaptation strategies include nature-based and climate-smart forestry, species diversity, hydrological restoration, and assisted migration.
Resilience must be observed over long periods to accurately assess management effectiveness and adapt strategies accordingly.
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