A New Satellite Data App Supports Better Monitoring of European Forests

European forests are constantly changing as they experience the impacts of climate change and intensive harvesting. In Nordic regions, the area of tall trees — which store the most carbon — is declining as harvesting overtakes regrowth. In southern Europe, severe forest fires are decimating large areas during ever-hotter summers. In central Europe, insect outbreaks are increasing in production forests, and demand for biomass energy continues to increase.

Understanding where, why and how much forests are changing is crucial for the long-term health of Europe's forests and supporting ongoing policy discussions for improved forest management, as well as ensuring a sustainable bioeconomy — forests in the EU are estimated to generate €174 per hectare through the forestry and logging industry, and almost half a million people are employed in the industry.

There are different ways to monitor European forests: Historically, abundant and detailed ground data has been the main source of information, but a wealth of satellite data has been developed over the last few decades and has become increasingly important.

For example, the proposed EU Forest Monitoring Law, which aims to provide consistent monitoring of Europe's forests, is built on a combination of both ground and satellite data, and in early 2025, 78 scientists from 17 European countries signed a public letter describing the benefits of satellite data for EU forest monitoring needs. Many European initiatives, including the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), also rely on satellite data. 

While there are many satellite data sets that give insights on European forests, including data with global coverage on WRI’s Global Forest Watch platform and annual tree height data for Europe from the University of Maryland, these do not provide targeted, comprehensive monitoring tools for the region.

Now, a new European Forest App, developed by researchers from WRI and Land & Carbon Lab in collaboration with GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and building on the Forest Navigator Data Cube, supports better monitoring of European forests by providing tailored information and insights in an easy-to-use platform. This new tool demonstrates the value and availability of free and open satellite data for European forest monitoring needs.

About the New European Forest App

The European Forest App provides harmonized and accessible data derived from multiple sources that are useful for European forest monitoring needs. It includes 12 indicators for forest change and condition: tree cover loss, gain, height, extent and stable forest extent (all based on data from the University of Maryland); and forest age, fragmentation state and change, long term disturbance, biomass, forest type and forest management, long term disturbance, and biomass. 

European Forest App indicator details

Users can select indicators from a dropdown menu and click on the map to see statistics calculated by country, province/state and district/municipality administrative levels. The example below shows areas of tree cover loss in different time periods and within and outside of natural and protected areas, and percent of tree cover loss within protected areas for a 10-year time period. 

Users do not need geospatial data analysis experience to use and pull key insights from the app. The app also harmonizes data at different resolutions to show all at the same spatial unit. 

It also shows all layers based on protected status and whether or not forest is natural, which is particularly valuable for assessing some of Europe’s most important forests.

Users interested in seeing more detail can follow these instructions to download the shapefiles showing the statistics.

Why Use Satellite Data Vs. Ground Data for Monitoring European Forests? 

Many European countries have robust monitoring of their forests based on extensive ground data, so what is the benefit of using satellite data?

First, not all countries have up-to-date or detailed national data, so satellite data can bolster national monitoring efforts for these countries.

Additionally, while ground data is detailed and precise, and is essential for calibrating and validating satellite-derived estimates, satellite data is complementary and offers many benefits for monitoring European forests:

• Globally consistent: Satellite data provides a large-scale comprehensive and common data source for all countries so that progress towards shared EU-wide goals can be tracked.
• Timely: Satellite data provides much more frequent updates than ground monitoring campaigns, which typically occur every five to 10 years.
• High quality: While no data is error-free, all the data on the European Forest App is based on peer-reviewed science and has open and transparent information on their quality, such as uncertainty measures, which can guide users in interpreting the information.
• Cost effective: Satellites can provide large amounts of data more cost effectively than other sources like airborne surveys or data collection in the field, which can be very costly. This makes it easier for companies and others to comply with regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation.
• Open and free: Anyone anywhere can use the European Forest App for their own forest monitoring needs.

Ultimately, no one data source can meet all data needs — for example, risk assessments under the EU Deforestation Regulation can benefit from both ground and satellite data — so having quality data of both kinds is important.

How Does the European Forest App Differ from Global Forest Watch? 

For the past decade, WRI’s Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform has provided free, open-source, globally consistent data on the world’s forests. While GFW provides important data on European forests, the new app uses different data, including a Europe-specific data set from the University of Maryland’s (UMD) GLAD lab that is not available on GFW. Unlike the global data on GFW, this data set is optimized for Europe.

In Europe, where many forests are actively managed and are replanted or allowed to regenerate after harvesting, the app provides additional data on gain, extent and stable forest area, which is particularly important.

For example, for the indicators based on UMD data from Turubanova et al. 2023, the app is able to provide data for all five-year and 10-year periods between 2001 and 2021 (e.g. 2001-2011, 2001-2006 and so on), whereas a similar global data set based on tree height also from UMD on GFW only provides the option to change the baseline year for tree cover gain, and offers more limited options for extent (10 year intervals).

The app also includes other Europe-specific data types not available on GFW, such as forest age, that are relevant for discussions related to the EU Forest Monitoring Law and the EU Nature Restoration Law. Additionally, the app provides some historical data as far back as 1986, where GFW provides data from 2000 onwards. In Europe, where harvest cycles are longer and growth is slower than in many parts of the tropics, this long timeframe can provide valuable insights into European forest dynamics.

However, GFW offers some important data not available on the app, such as annually updated data on tree cover loss, contextual data like biodiversity hotspots, and near-real-time deforestation alerts. GFW also provides dozens of widgets with data-derived statistics, additional Help Center support and compatible tools such as Forest Watcher that support users for specific use cases.

While there is overlap between the European Forest App and GFW, and major trends revealed by the data remain the same, the data will not completely align in all cases — different data and methods will lead to slightly different results. Users monitoring European forests should consult both sources to identify which better suits their needs: those interested in only European forest information over longer timeframes may prefer the European Forest App, and those interested in other information, such as near-real-time disturbances, may prefer the GFW platform.

Explore the European Forest App here. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].