Brief on forestry biomass production

This brief on forestry biomass production is one out of a series of Bioeconomy Knowledge Centre briefs which intend to provide independent evidence for EU policy in this field. The following are the key results: 1. The land area covered by forests in the EU has been expanding at an average rate of 0.26% or 0.4 million hectares (Mha) per year from 2000 to 2015 (slowing down in 2010-2015). It reached 161 Mha (38% of the EU territory) in 2015. Of this area, 84% is potentially available for wood supply. 2. The total aboveground biomass stocked in EU forests reached 18 600 Mt in 2013. It has been increasing since 2000 at a rate of approximately 1.3% per year (see section 2), although the forest growth has been slowing down slightly, mostly due to ageing of forests. 3. The average annual harvest level – 281 Mt (of which 224 Mt are removed from the forest) – amounts to 63% of the growth rate (measured as net annual increment) of EU forests – 444 Mt per year. Since fellings are underreported, the actual harvest rate is likely to be higher, but still not exceeding the growth rate. 4. Detailed and harmonised quantitative data on forest management, and especially wood removals, present severe gaps and uncertainties at EU level, with marked differences between Member States. While significant progress has been made, efforts to improve the current assessments should be pursued. 5. Sustainable wood production implies reconciling the full range of ecosystem services which the forests provide.JRC.D.1-Bio-econom