Close to Nature Forestry – Hope for the European Green Deal

Dear Colleagues,

The Green Deal is an ambitious plan of the European Union that implies an active fight against climate change. The majority of the European Green Plan is aimed at reducing the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The proposal for a European Climate Act, which includes the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, will clearly set out the conditions for an effective transition and will also focus on nature-based solutions, especially in the context of climate change adaptation. The main EU strategy for forests has as its main objectives effective afforestation and the preservation and restoration of forests in Europe, increasing CO2 absorption, reducing forest fires, and increasing forest resilience. The total forest area in the EU is 182 million hectares (about 5% of the world’s forests) or 43% of the Union’s area. The EU’s forest area increased between 1990 and 2000, growing by 11 million hectares thanks to natural succession and afforestation. From an ecological point of view, the Union’s forests have several important roles: they contribute to soil protection, participate in the hydrological cycle, regulate the local climate, store carbon, and keep biodiversity. At the same time, however, forest ecosystems are exposed to increasing pressure due to climate change (increased mortality due to drought, great damage due to more frequent natural disasters, etc.). By natural regeneration and afforestation, decaying forests could better absorb CO2 and become more resilient. Based on the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, the Commission will prepare a new EU Forest Strategy covering the whole cycle of forest development and promoting ecosystem services. The main objectives of the EU Forest Strategy will be effective afforestation and the preservation and restoration of forests in Europe to increase CO2 absorption, reduce the occurrence and spread of forest fires, and promote the bioeconomy in line with ecological principles conducive to biodiversity.

This Special Issue seeks to contribute to the realization of the European green plan but also to provide answers and practical solutions to whether forests and forestry are capable of responding to the ambitions of the EU.

Prof. Dr. Stjepan Mikac
Guest Editor

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