1. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Initiatives of the European Commission on Forest Monitoring Jesús San-Miguel-Ayanz (EC JRC)

2. UNECE ToS, April, 2005  Lack of comprehensive/harmonized information at the EU level  Existence of multiple forest information sources National forest inventories/statistics (EFICS report, EC 1997) European statistics collected by EC (Eurostat) Temperate and Boreal resources Assessments (UN-ECE/FAO, 2000) Forest Resources Assessment (FRA2005)  Dispite of above, the lack of harmonized information at the EU level persists  Lack of a European Legislation on Forestry Status Initiatives of the EC on Forest Monitoring

3. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 European Forest Information and Communication (EFICS- EEC1615/89) European Forest Information and Communication System (EFICS) in order to address the need for sound forestry information at the European level. EFICS expired in the year 2000. Results included: EFICS report (EC 1997). Publications and workshops on harmonization of forest nomenclature, data and methods. Production of a demonstration prototype of a European Forest Information System (EFIS)  Follow-up of EFICS  “Preparatory Action” on the establishment of a European Forest Information and Communication Platform EFICP – 2004 Policy Framework on forest information in the EU

4. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 User Long term forest resources database Metadata $ Forest Products Statistics and Trade flow European Forest Maps Regional Forest Resources and Socioeconomic statistics EFICP - Information Sever Host of resource discovery, analysis and visualization tools  EFICP Information Server  Data/information  Data Provider  Metadata Internet Data Provider Watershed data Metadata Data Provider Forest Disturbances Data Provider JRC activities supporting forest monitoring - European Forest Information and Communication Platform (EFICP)

5. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Atmospheric Pollution on forests (EEC Reg. 3528/86) Level I - Monitoring forest health and vitality through the annual assessment of tree defoliation in a systematic grid of 16 by 16 km. Level II scheme was set up in 1994 to monitor cause-effect relationship on a selected number of experimental plots. They do not European representative information. Atmospheric Pollution on forests (EEC Reg. 3528/86) expired in 2002.  Continued monitoring of atmospheric pollution on forests (Forest Focus Reg. 2152/03) until 2006 Policy Framework on forest information in the EU

6. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Level I Crown Condition Level I Soil Level I Foliar Analysis Level II Database Meteorological Continuous Soil Inventory 10 Year Deposition Continuous Vegetation 5 Year Foliage 2 Year Crown Condition 1 Year Increment 5 Year Common EU Forest Data Platform Soil Solution Continuous Commission ServicesScientific CommunityGeneral Public IntranetExtranetInternet Registration, Username/Password Public Access to aggregated data Dedicated Access DATA MANAGEMENT JRC activities supporting forest monitoring Forest Focus Data Platform

7. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Forest Fires Prevention (EEC 2158/92) / EEC 804/94 Forest fire database Information on forest fires events (Common Core Database of National Fire Stats.) Data included:  Fire location (commune level)  Date of fire initiation and extinction  Time of first intervention and extinction  Burnt area (forest/non forest)  Cause of the fire (unknown, natural, accident, deliberate)  Continued monitoring through Forest Focus (Reg. 2152/03) until 2006  European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) Policy Framework on forest information in the EU

8. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Fuel/Biomass Cartography Tables Statistics Post-fire risk zoning Fire Risk Member States EC EP Modules Products: Customer and users: National Fire Statistics Damage Assessment CO2 emissions Regeneration JRC activities supporting forest monitoring European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS)

9. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Forest Focus (EEC 2152/2003 ) Forest Fires (EEC 2158/92) Atmospheric Pollution on forests (EEC 3528/86) Soils / Biodiversity /Climate Change & Carbon sequestration /Protective function of the forests Forest Policy Framework in the EU 2006 Preparatory Action on a European Forest Information and Communication Platform (EFICP) – 2004 Follow-up of the EFICS regulation Financial instrument

10. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 Landsat ETM+ data 44 land cover classes Minimum mapping 25 ha Land cover changes >5 ha Geometric accuracy: – image data: RMSE < 25 m – land cover data: RMSE < 100 m Thematic accuracy: > 90 % Updating frequency: every 10 years (5 years?) EEA-JRC CORINE – Land Cover Mapping - 2000

11. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 AGRI-ESTAT-JRC LUCAS – Land Use/Cover Area-frame Survey 2001, 2003, 2005 Systematic Grid 18 x 18 km  enhanced grid 2005 The sampling consists of 2 stages: Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) that are cells of a regular grid with a size of 18km by 18km Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs) that are 10 points regularly distributed (in a rectangular of 1500m by 600m side length) around the centre of each PSU.

12. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 IRS WIFS image mosaic classification (200 m resolution) Forest Proportion – from NOAAAVHRR (1 km resolution) JRC – European Forest Map – existing products

13. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 3 Test Areas – Boreal – Alpine - Mediterranean LANDSAT ETM (TM) Forest Mapping – High spatial resolution Objectives: 1. Forest/Non-forest mask 2. Forest classes Conifer Broadleaf Mixed

14. UNECE ToS, April, 2005 1.Forest monitoring policy lasting up to the end of 2006. 2.Lack of legislative basis after 2006  LIFE+ in Environment 3.Future policies/strategies in line with financial rules of the EC 2007-2013 4.Several EC services dealing with forestry (DG AGRI, DG ENV, ESTAT, DG REGIO,...) 5.Many national and international commitments for reporting on forest resources/environmental issues  need for data integration. 6.Lack of harmonized information at the EU level. 7.Large potential of on-going initiatives  ENFIN (European National Forest Inventory Network)  NEFIS (Network of European Forest Information Services)  EFFIS / EC Forest Focus data platform / EFICP  Forest Focus Studies (Biosoil, harmonization, spatial analysis, etc.) Summary