Forestry biomass production within a sustainable and circular bioeconomy
Brief me
- Forestry has a central role among the biomass producing sectors, providing valuable resources for the EU bioeconomy.
- Forests in the EU cover more than one third of the land area and they have been expanding since 1990, although the rate of expansion is slowing down.
- They provide many services to society, such as helping mitigate climate change, supporting biodiversity, regulating water, offering recreation areas and supplying wood.
- In 2021, 582 million m3 of wood were harvested in the EU, corresponding to ca. 75% of the net annual increment.
- Sustainable wood production implies balancing harvesting with the full range of other forest ecosystem services.
- Monitoring EU forests is key to ensuring their balanced management: the European Commission is working with Member States to harmonise data and make statistics comparable across the EU.
Find out more in the brief and explore further other resources!
Brief on forestry biomass production
Explore further
EU policy related to forests and forestry
Learn more about the policy measures for EU forests.
EU observatory on deforestation and forest degradation
Explore maps and datasets made publicly available by this JRC-managed observatory.
Key publications on forestry biomass
Keep up to date with this collection of publications, giving insights on the status and potential development of the EU forest-based sector.
Infographics and datasets on forestry biomass
Discover how the forest sector contributes to the EU bioeconomy.
The JRC Biomass Mandate
10 years of comprehensive biomass analysis - informing policy to ensure that biomass supply and uses are within ecological limits and EU policy goals.
Stakeholder and expert groups on forestry
Explore platforms and working groups contributing to enhancing the EU forest-related policies
Latest knowledge
The JRC Biomass Mandate
10 years of comprehensive biomass analysis - informing policy to ensure that biomass supply and uses are within ecological limits and EU policy goals.
EU Biomass supply, uses, governance and regenerative actions - 10 year anniversary edition
This report is the fourth comprehensive public report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) entirely dedicated to the topic of biomass. This report also marks the ten-year anniversary...
Key publications on forestry biomass
Keep up to date with this collection of publications, giving insights on the status and potential development of the EU forest-based sector.