Satellite estimates show annual losses reached unprecedented levels after 2018 as natural disturbances intensified in temperate forests.
A satellite-based study estimates that Europe’s forests lost 6.5 ± 0.8 petagrams of aboveground biomass from 1985 to 2023. Most of the loss came from harvests, but losses rose sharply after 2018 as natural disturbances became more active in temperate forests with large amounts of biomass.
The researchers found that annual losses from 2018 onward were 46% higher than before, reaching levels not seen in the preceding four decades. They say the results point to continued biomass losses as climate-driven disturbances intensify, even while policies aim to increase the forest carbon sink by 2030.
Where biomass losses came from
Using satellite remote sensing, the researchers estimated gross aboveground biomass losses across Europe’s 216 million hectares of forest over 1985–2023 at 6.5 ± 0.8 petagrams. High-severity natural disturbances caused 18% of the losses, while stand-replacing harvests caused 82%.
From 2018 onward, annual aboveground biomass losses increased by 46% and reached levels not seen in the previous four decades. This increase coincided with high natural-disturbance activity in temperate forests that contain large amounts of biomass. After 2018, the amount of biomass lost for a given disturbance area also rose substantially, meaning relatively small increases in natural disturbance could produce large losses.
// Source
Nature Geoscience · 2026 · DOI: 10.1038/s41561-026-02032-y
Authors: Katja Kowalski, Alba Viana‐Soto, Martin Brandt, Philippe Ciais, Wanda De Keersmaecker, Rasmus Fensholt, Thomas A. M. Pugh, Yidi Xu, Cornelius Senf
Institutions: University of Copenhagen, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lund University, University of Birmingham, Technical University of Munich, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Paris-Saclay, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Forest Research
