Forest

Research is at the basis of the JRC’s support to a range of forest-related policies, including the EU Bioeconomy, Biodiversity, and Forest Strategies and the Paris Climate Agreement. This website describes research activities on European forests that are carried out within the JRC.

A large collection of data sets and information on European forests can be accessed through the Forest Information System for Europe. Many of the other data sets resulting from our research can be queried in the JRC Data Catalogue, and particular output might be taken up in the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy.

JRC’s research on methods to assess forest cover change in tropical regions using satellite data is covered on the IFORCE website.

Database of European Forest Insect & Disease Disturbances (DEFID2)

Forest pests and pathogens are an increasing concern in Europe. Therefore, the JRC is launching a collaborative initiative to create a spatio-temporal database of the damages they have caused to European forests since 1981.

We invite researchers, forest services, and forest owners from across Europe engaged in mapping such forest disturbances to contribute their observations to this new Database of European Forest Insect & Disease Disturbances (DEFID2), which will be harmonized and curated by the JRC.

DEFID2 will be open-access and improve our capacity to observe, understand, and predict biotic forest disturbances and quantify their impact on forest ecosystems. Results of the data collection will be published in a high-profile scientific journal and coauthorship will be offered to all data providers. You can find more details, including the protocol for the data collection, here .