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Tag: Old growth forest

From pixels to pines: exploring Bulgaria’s Rhodopes ForestsExploring Bulgarian forests

From pixels to pines: exploring Bulgaria’s Rhodopes Forests

Published February 4, 2026 by Gesche Schifferdecker

#RestorationStory by Annabel Burg, Sietse van der Woude, and Niamh Kelly

It was the last day of June 2025 when our small group set out from Schiphol Airport. Traveling with us, three PhD students from Wageningen University and Research, were two colleagues: Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Professor of European Forest Resources at Wageningen University, and Thomas Groen, Associate Professor of Remote Sensing at the University of Twente. Our destination was Bulgaria – a country that, until then, most of us knew little about. We were curious, not only about its history and culture, but especially about its landscapes. Despite its modest size, Bulgaria is blessed with mountains, rivers, caves, and lakes. More than one-third of the country is covered by forests, making it one of Europe’s most densely forested and biodiverse nations.

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Exploring Romanian forests – an unexpected journey

Exploring Romanian forests – an unexpected journey

Published August 24, 2022 by Bas Lerink

by Silke Jacobs, Sara Filipek, Gert-Jan Nabuurs & Bas Lerink

‘Timber Mafia’, ‘Notorious corruption’ and ‘Destruction of last virgin forests’. News articles about Romanian forests and their management are dominated by headlines like these or with a likewise tendency. But we were wondering: Is that really the only thing we should know about Romanian forests? Or are there also examples of good and sustainable forest management – as well as protection of primary forests? 

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From research to action: the future of Old-growth Forests in Europe

From research to action: the future of Old-growth Forests in Europe

Published October 6, 2021 by Lyla O' Brien

Despite making up a small fraction of forest area in Europe, primary and old-growth forests generate heated debates given their importance for biodiversity conservation and provision of many ecosystem services. However, due to the complexity surrounding these forests, discussions sometimes seem to circle indefinitely. Inputs from the latest scientific research are therefore exceptionally valuable, especially when it comes to guiding policy implementation on their protection.

On September 21st, 2021, a webinar on two recently published studies on primary and old-growth forests held by the Commission Working Group on Forests and Nature (sub-working group of the Co-coordination Group for Biodiversity and Nature) provided such an opportunity. EFI presented its recent study, Protecting old-growth forests in Europe – a review of scientific evidence to inform policy implementation. Following, José Barredo gave insight to the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) report on Mapping and assessment of primary and old-growth forests in Europe. The Working Group, which aims to progress the process to define, map, monitor, and strictly protect EU’s primary and old-growth forests, hosted the webinar with the goal of raising awareness of the two studies among the group’s members, as well as to discuss how the scientific findings could inform their ongoing process.

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Old-growth forests, new policy implications

Old-growth forests, new policy implications

Published June 28, 2021 by Lyla O' Brien

EFI report contributes to debate on how to achieve old-growth forest protection targets in the EU

If you ask stakeholders all over Europe “How should we address the remaining old-growth forests?”, you can expect eyebrows to be raised. Most of us agree that despite covering only a small fraction of Europe’s land area, old-growth and other primary forests play an important role in biodiversity conservation and in the provision of other ecosystem services. But other aspects of the topic are constantly debated. Discussions of old-growth forests also have new policy implications, as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets the target to strictly protect all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests. This is part of a wider objective to strictly protect 10% of EU land area.

However, the path to protection is not so straight forward. It starts with questions continuing to circle at policy level and in academia on how old-growth forest should be defined. Similarly, we face unresolved issues on how to implement the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Aiming at informing discussions related to these questions, European Forest Institute (EFI) recently released a study titled ‘Protecting old-growth forests in Europe – a review of scientific evidence to inform policy implementation’.

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Forever young – an end of an era for old-growth forests?

Forever young – an end of an era for old-growth forests?

Published July 9, 2020 by Laura Nikinmaa

When asked what kind of trees I like, the answer always is old. No matter the species, there is something humbling and comforting about the old giants that puts my mind at ease. And I’m not the only one: big, ancient trees are central in many mythologies, and some individuals are famous and loved by many, for example General Sherman in the USA and Major Oak in the UK. But we might not be able to enjoy their majesty much longer, according to a recent study.

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