Forests in Europe
Due to basic differences in geographical and ecological conditions and economic and social requirements throughout Europe, forests and their management vary greatly across the continent.
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| Forest, provided courtesy of Södra |
In prehistoric times, forests covered over 80% of Europe. But an ever increasing demand for land for food production, and the rapid changes during the industrialisation period, led to extensive exploitation and the area of forest was reduced to less than one quarter by the end of the 19th century. However, once man began to realise the value of wood as a resource, this decline was reversed through the large-scale reforestation of the past 150 years.
In 2002 the recorded area of Europe's forests was 329 million hectares, which is 29% of the land area. However, the percentage of forested land in individual countries varies considerably, ranging from more than 50% in the Nordic countries to less than 10% in north western Europe. If Russia is included, Europe's total area of exploitable forest is 150 million hectares. Since the 1950s, in relative terms, there have been consistently fewer fellings when compared to forest growth and this has made it possible to supply ever greater quantities of wood, while simultaneously increasing the growing stock.
In terms of forest ownership, there are some 15 million privately owned forestry holdings accounting for 65% of Europe's forested land, with only a minor part belonging to the forestry industry.
