Atzberger C., Zeug G., Defourny P., Aragão L., Hammarström L., Immitzer M. Monitoring of forests through remote sensing: Final Report

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020. - 149 p.Forest ecosystems are of high socio-economic and ecological importance but increasingly under threat – both from biotic and abiotic disturbances. Unfortunately, as a result of the ongoing climate change, the frequency and intensity of disturbances are believed to further increase shortly. This makes the set-up of an appropriate Forest Monitoring Information System for Europe (FISE) a high priority. To exploit synergies, and to avoid unnecessary redundancies and double developments, it is recommended to set up such a FISE addressing various disturbances in parallel while building on the same IT infrastructure and datasets. Beyond the economy of scale, it is also of critical importance from the user perspective to ensure consistency and interoperability across the different forest information layers. In this desk study, the possible contribution of (satellite-based) Earth Observation (EO) to such a monitoring system is critically assessed by reviewing the available scientific literature and by summarizing existing operational or experimental attempts at the European and global levels. Moreover, a survey among members of the EIONET National Reference Centers on Forests was conducted to gain additional information about forest remote sensing activities in the EEA 39 countries. Complementary - and highly valuable - information was provided by colleagues from the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Joint Research Center (JRC), the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), and the US Forest Service (USFS). Thanks to the collected information, it was possible to describe the advantages and limitations of various remote sensing techniques and to design strategies and recommendations for effective use of EO data at the European level for six highly relevant threats: wildfires, pest infestations, droughts, storm damages, illegal logging, phenology shifts.Executive Summary.
Background and objectives of the study.
Stock taking and review of existing evidence.
Phenology.
Illegal logging.
Pest and diseases.
Wildfires.
Storm damages.
Forest drought and water content monitoring.
Brazilian monitoring.
Survey.
Remote sensing for forest condition and disturbance-related policy development and implementation monitoring.
The European Green Deal, COM(2020) 80 final.
The European Forest Strategy, COM (2013) 659 final.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, COM (2020/380) final.
EU Regulation on Support for Rural Development (No 1305/2013).
EU Regulation for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector (LULUCF).
Recommendations for the Commission.