Forest Inventory and Biomass Assessment in European Ecosystems
Summary
Forest inventory and biomass assessment form the cornerstone of sustainable management, carbon accounting and biodiversity conservation across Europe’s diverse woodlands. National Forest Inventories (NFIs) provide systematic field measurements of tree dimensions, species composition and stand structure on permanent sampling grids. These in situ data are increasingly supplemented by remote sensing platforms—satellite imagery, airborne LiDAR and unmanned aerial vehicles—to produce spatially continuous maps of aboveground biomass and net primary production. Harmonised protocols and allometric models translate tree measurements into estimates of carbon stocks, while statistical techniques enable small-area estimation for local decision-making. The integration of traditional and novel methods supports reporting under international climate agreements, informs harvest planning and underpins a growing bioeconomy by clarifying biomass supply chains.
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Forest Inventory and Biomass Assessment in European Ecosystems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in forest inventory and biomass assessment in european ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
National Forest Inventory (NFI): A systematic sampling programme that records field measurements of tree size, species and stand attributes on permanent plots.
Aboveground biomass: The total mass of living plant material excluding roots, expressed per unit area (e.g., Mg ha–1).
Allometric equations: Statistical models relating easily measured tree dimensions (e.g., diameter at breast height) to biomass or volume.
Remote sensing: The acquisition of information about forests from airborne or satellite sensors, including optical imagery and radar.
LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging technology that uses laser pulses to capture three-dimensional forest structure.
Harmonisation: The process of aligning different data sources or measurement protocols to a common standard for comparability.
References
- Spatial patterns of biomass change across Finland in 2009–2015. ISPRS Open Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2023).
- An assessment of forest biomass maps in Europe using harmonized national statistics and inventory plots. Forest Ecology and Management (2018).
- Harmonisation of stem volume estimates in European National Forest Inventories. Annals of Forest Science (2019).
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