Primary forests, defined here as forests where the signs of human impacts, if any, are strongly blurred due to decades without forest management, are scarce in Europe and continue to disappear. Despite these losses, we know little about where these forests occur. Here, we present a comprehensive geodatabase and map of Europe's known primary forests. Our geodatabase harmonizes 48 different, mostly field-based datasets of primary forests, and contains 18,411 individual patches (41.1 Mha) spread across 33 countries. When available, we provide information on each patch (name, location, naturalness, extent and dominant tree species) and the surrounding landscape (biogeographical regions, protection status, potential natural vegetation, current forest extent). Using Landsat satellite-image time series (1985-2018) we checked each patch for possible disturbance events since primary forests were identified, resulting in 94% of patches free of significant disturbances in the last 30 years. Although knowledge gaps remain, ours is the most comprehensive dataset on primary forests in Europe, and will be useful for ecological studies, and conservation planning to safeguard these unique forests.

Agricultural University of Tirana Forestry Department Kodër Kamëz SH1 1029 Tirana Albania

Asplan Viak A S Kjörboveien 20 postboks 24 N 1300 Sandvika Norway

Centre for Applied Ecology Professor Baeta Neves InBIO School of Agriculture University of Lisbon Tapada da Ajuda 1349 017 Lisbon Portugal

Centre for Ecological Research Institute of Ecology and Botany Alkotmány u 2 4 2163 Vácrátót Hungary

Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management Faculty of Forest and Environment Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development Alfred Möller Str 1 16225 Eberswalde Germany

CRPF Occitanie antenne de Tarbes place du foirail 65000 Tarbes France

Czech University of Life Sciences Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Kamýcka cesta 1176 CZ 16521 Praha6 Suchdol Czech Republic

Department of Forest Biodiversity University of Agriculture Kraków Poland

Ecosphera NGO Kapushans'ka 82a Uzhhorod 88000 Ukraine

EUROPARC Spain Fundación Fernando González Bernáldez ICEI Edificio A Campus de Somosaguas E28224 Pozuelo de Alarcón Spain

Faculty of Forestry University of Agriculture in Krakow aleja 29 Listopada 46 31 415 Krakow Poland

Forest Research Institute Vassilika 57006 Thessaloniki Greece

Frankfurt Zoological Society Bernhard Grzimek Allee 1 60316 Frankfurt Germany

Freelance forest expert and book author Vienna Austria

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Puschstrasse 4 04103 Leipzig Germany

Greensway AB Ulls väg 24A 756 51 Uppsala Sweden

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Geography Department and Integrative Research Institute on Transformation in Human Environment Systems Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Geography Department Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin Germany

Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province Radnička 20a Novi Sad 21000 Serbia

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2 Gagarin Street 1113 Sofia Bulgaria

Institute of Experimental Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Laboratory of Productivity and Stability of Plant Communities 220072 Academicheskaya St 27 Minsk Belarus

Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava Rigas street 111 Salaspils LV 2169 Latvia

Martin Luther Universität Halle Wittenberg Institut für Biologie Am Kirchtor 1 06108 Halle Germany

Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria Agraria Department Loc Feo di Vito 89122 Reggio Calabria Italy

NGO Transparent World Rossolimo str 5 22 building 1 119021 Moscow Russia

Northwest German Forest Research Institute Department Forest Nature Conservation Professor Oelkers Straße 6 34346 Hann Münden Germany

Parque Nacional de Garajonay Avda 5 Centenario edif Las Creces local 1 portal 3 38800 San Sebastian de La Gomera Tenerife Spain

PRALES Odtrnovie 563 SK 01322 Rosina Slovakia

PSEDA ILIRIA Forestry department Tirana 1000 Albania

Réserves Naturelles de France La Bourdonnerie Dijon cedex 21000 France

Saint Petersburg State University Department of Vegetation Science University Embankment 7 9 St Petersburg 199034 Russia

Sapienza University of Rome Department of Environmental Biology P le Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome Italy

Silva Tarouca Research Institute Department of Forest Ecology Lidická 25 27 602 00 Brno Czech Republic

Slovenia Forest Service Department for forest management planning Vecna pot 2 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje Hans Em Faculty of Forest Sciences Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering Department of Botany and Dendrology P O Box 235 MK 1000 Skopje North Macedonia

Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL Forest Resources and Management Zürcherstrasse 111 8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland

The Danish Nature Agency Gjøddinggård Førstballevej 2 DK 7183 Randbøl Denmark

Université de Toulouse INRAE UMR DYNAFOR 24 Chemin de Borde Rouge Auzeville CS 52627 Castanet Tolosan 31326 France

University of Eastern Finland School of forest Sciences Yliopistokatu 7 80100 Joensuu Finland

University of Forestry Dendrology Department bulevard Sveti Kliment Ohridski 10 1756 Sofia Bulgaria

University of Novi Sad Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment Antona Cehova 13d Novi Sad 21000 Serbia

University of Novi Sad Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment Antona Cehova 13d Novi Sad 21102 Serbia

University of Tartu Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences Vanemuise 46 EE 51014 Tartu Estonia

University of Torino Department DISAFA L go Paolo Braccini 2 Grugliasco 10095 Italy

University of Zagreb Faculty of Forestry Svetosimunska cesta 25 10000 Zagreb Croatia

Vytautas Magnus University K Donelaičio g 58 LT 44248 Kaunas Lithuania

World Wide Fund for nature Lunga street 190 Brasov 500051 Romania

World Wide Fund for nature Ukraine Mushaka 48 Lviv 79011 Ukraine

Erratum v

Sci Data. 2021 Sep 20;8(1):249. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-01036-0. PubMed

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Watson JEM, et al. The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems. Nat. Eco. Evo. 2018;2:599–610. PubMed

European Commission. in

Vandekerkhove K, et al. Reappearance of Old-Growth Elements in Lowland Woodlands in Northern Belgium: Do the Associated Species Follow? Silva Fenn. 2011;45:909–935.

Di Marco M, Ferrier S, Harwood TD, Hoskins AJ, Watson JE. Wilderness areas halve the extinction risk of terrestrial biodiversity. Nature. 2019;573:582–585. PubMed

Frey SJK, et al. Spatial models reveal the microclimatic buffering capacity of old-growth forests. Sci. Adv. 2016;2:e1501392. PubMed PMC

Zhou GY, et al. Old-growth forests can accumulate carbon in soils. Science. 2006;314:1417–1417. PubMed

Burrascano S, Keeton WS, Sabatini FM, Blasi C. Commonality and variability in the structural attributes of moist temperate old-growth forests: A global review. For. Ecol. Manag. 2013;291:458–479.

Bauhus J, Puettmann K, Messier C. Silviculture for old-growth attributes. For. Ecol. Manag. 2009;258:525–537.

Moore KD. In the shadow of the cedars: the spiritual values of old-growth forests. Conserv. Biol. 2007;21:1120–1123. PubMed

FOREST EUROPE. State of Europe’s Forests 2015. (Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, Madrid, 2015).

Ceccherini G, et al. Abrupt increase in harvested forest area over Europe after 2015. Nature. 2020;583:72–77. PubMed

Levers C, et al. Drivers of forest harvesting intensity patterns in Europe. For. Ecol. Manag. 2014;315:160–172.

Potapov, P. PubMed PMC

Schickhofer, M. & Schwarz, U.

Knorn J, et al. Continued loss of temperate old-growth forests in the Romanian Carpathians despite an increasing protected area network. Environ. Conserv. 2013;40:182–193.

Court of Justice of the European Union. C-441/17 - Commission v Poland (Forêt de Białowieża)

Chylarecki P, Selva N. Ancient forest: spare it from clearance. Nature. 2016;530:419–419. PubMed

Earthsight. Complicit in corruption. How billion-dollar firms and EU governments are failing Ukraine’s forests. (Earthsight, 2018).

Mikoláš M, et al. Primary forest distribution and representation in a Central European landscape: Results of a large-scale field-based census. For. Ecol. Manag. 2019;449:117466.

Hance, J. IKEA Logging Old-growth Forest for Low-price Furniture in Russia. https://news.mongabay.com/2012/05/ikea-logging-old-growth-forest-for-low-price-furniture-in-russia/ (2012).

Sabatini FM, et al. Protection gaps and restoration opportunities for primary forests in Europe. Divers. Distrib. 2020;26:1646–1662.

Barredo Cano, J. I.

Adam, D. & Vrška, T.

Diaci, J. Virgin forests and forest reserves in Central and East European countries-History, present status and future development.

Kirchmeir, H. & Kovarovics, A.

García Feced, C., Berglund, H. & Strnad, M. Scoping document: information related to European old growth forests. (ETC/BD report to the EEA, 2015).

Veen P, et al. Virgin forests in Romania and Bulgaria: results of two national inventory projects and their implications for protection. Biodivers. Conserv. 2010;19:1805–1819.

Ibisch, P. L. & Ursu, A. Potential primary forests of Romania. (Greenpeace CEE Romania; Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development; Geography Department, A. I. Cuza University of Iași, 2017).

Spracklen BD, Spracklen DV. Identifying European Old-Growth Forests using Remote Sensing: A Study in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Forests. 2019;10:127.

Frank, G.

Sabatini FM, et al. Where are Europe’s last primary forests? Divers. Distrib. 2018;24:1426–1439.

McRoberts RE, Susanne W, Gherardo C, Elizabeth L. Assessing Forest Naturalness. For. Sci. 2012;58:294–309.

Sabatini FM, 2020. European Primary Forest Database. figshare. DOI

FAO.

Buchwald, E.

Blasi, C., Burrascano, S., Maturani, A. & Sabatini, F. M.

Cateau, E.

Svoboda M, et al. Landscape-level variability in historical disturbance in primary Picea abies mountain forests of the Eastern Carpathians, Romania. J. Veg. Sci. 2014;25:386–401.

Potapov, P.

Britz, H.

UNEP-WCMC & IUCN.

EEA.

EEA. European forest types. Categories and types for sustainable forest management reporting and policy. (EEA Technical Report No 9/2006. EEA, Copenhagen, 2006).

Bohn, U.

Hansen MC, et al. High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science. 2013;342:850–853. PubMed

R Development Core Team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing v. 3.6.1.

Miljødirektoratet. (2016).

FAO. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015. Desk reference. 245 (FAO, Rome, 2015).

FOREST EUROPE.

Cohen WB, Yang Z, Healey SP, Kennedy RE, Gorelick N. A LandTrendr multispectral ensemble for forest disturbance detection. Remote Sens. Environ. 2018;205:131–140.

Kennedy, E. R.

Gorelick Noel, Hancher Matt, Dixon Mike, et al. Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone. Remote Sens. Environ. 2017;202:18–27.

Kennedy RE, Yang Z, Cohen WB. Detecting trends in forest disturbance and recovery using yearly Landsat time series: 1. LandTrendr—Temporal segmentation algorithms. Remote Sens. Environ. 2010;114:2897–2910.

Griffiths, P., Van Der Linden, S., Kuemmerle, T. & Hostert, P. A pixel-based landsat compositing algorithm for large area land cover mapping

Cohen WB, Spies TA. Estimating structural attributes of Douglas-fir/western hemlock forest stands from Landsat and SPOT imagery. Remote Sens. Environ. 1992;41:1–17.

Czerwinski CJ, King DJ, Mitchell SW. Mapping forest growth and decline in a temperate mixed forest using temporal trend analysis of Landsat imagery, 1987–2010. Remote Sens. Environ. 2014;141:188–200.

Cohen WB, Yang Z, Kennedy R. Detecting trends in forest disturbance and recovery using yearly Landsat time series: 2. TimeSync—Tools for calibration and validation. Remote Sens. Environ. 2010;114:2911–2924.

Grogan K, Pflugmacher D, Hostert P, Kennedy R, Fensholt R. Cross-border forest disturbance and the role of natural rubber in mainland Southeast Asia using annual Landsat time series. Remote Sens. Environ. 2015;169:438–453.

De Marzo T, et al. Characterizing forest disturbances across the Argentine Dry Chaco based on Landsat time series. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. 2021;98:102310.

Frank, A.

Länsstyrelsen Västerbotten.

Naturvårdsverket.

Naturvårdsverket.

Naturvårdsverket.

Ahlkrona, E., Giljam, C. & Wennberg, S. Kartering av kontinuitetsskogi boreal region. Metria AB på uppdrag av Naturvårdsverket (2017).

Naturvårdsverket.

Trotsiuk V, et al. A mixed severity disturbance regime in the primary Picea abies (L.) Karst. forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians. For. Ecol. Manag. 2014;334:144–153.

Kozák D, et al. Profile of tree-related microhabitats in European primary beech-dominated forests. For. Ecol. Manag. 2018;429:363–374.

Garbarino M, et al. Gap disturbances and regeneration patterns in a Bosnian old-growth forest: a multispectral remote sensing and ground-based approach. Ann. For. Sci. 2012;69:617–625.

Keren S, et al. Comparative Structural Dynamics of the Janj Mixed Old-Growth Mountain Forest in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Are Conifers in a Long-Term Decline? Forests. 2014;5:1243–1266.

Motta R, et al. Structure, spatio-temporal dynamics and disturbance regime of the mixed beech–silver fir–Norway spruce old-growth forest of Biogradska Gora (Montenegro) Plant Biosyst. 2015;149:966–975.

Motta R, et al. Development of old-growth characteristics in uneven-aged forests of the Italian Alps. Eur. J. For. Res. 2015;134:19–31.

Panayotov, M.

Lõhmus A, Kraut A. Stand structure of hemiboreal old-growth forests: Characteristic features, variation among site types, and a comparison with FSC-certified mature stands in Estonia. For. Ecol. Manag. 2010;260:155–165.

EEA.

Rossi, M., Bardin, P., Cateau, E. & Vallauri, D. Forêts anciennes de Méditerrané e et des montagnes limitrophes: références pour la naturalité régionale.

Myhre, T. Skogkur 2020. redningsplan for Norges unike skoger.

Ruete A, Snäll T, Jönsson M. Dynamic anthropogenic edge effects on the distribution and diversity of fungi in fragmented old-growth forests. Ecol. Appl. 2016;26:1475–1485. PubMed

Heiri C, Wolf A, Rohrer L, Brang P, Bugmann H. Successional pathways in Swiss mountain forest reserves. Eur. J. For. Res. 2012;131:503–518.

Brang, P., Heiri, C. & Bugmann, H.

Pantić, D.

Savoie, J. M.

Savoie, J. M.

WWF Finland. Kansallisomaisuus turvaan - valtion omistamia suojelun arvoisia metsä- ja suoalueita, (WWF Suomen raportteja, 2012).

Kitenberga M, et al. A mixture of human and climatic effects shapes the 250-year long fire history of a semi-natural pine dominated landscape of Northern Latvia. For. Ecol. Manag. 2019;441:192–201.

Baders E, Senhofa S, Purina L, Jansons A. Natural succession of Norway spruce stands in hemiboreal forests: case study in Slitere national park, Latvia. Baltic Forestry. 2017;23:522–528.

Kokarēviča I, et al. Vegetation changes in boreo–nemoral forest stands depending on soil factors and past land use during an 80 year period of no human impact. Can. J. For. Res. 2016;46:376–386.

Fernandez López, A. B. Parque Nacional de Garajonay, Patrimonio Mundial. (Organismo Autonomo Parques Nacionales, 2009).

TRAGSATEC. Segundo inventario ecológico del Parque Nacional de Garajonay. (Parque Nacional de Garajonay, 2006).

Fernández, A. B. & Gómez, L. Qué son los bosques antiguos de laurisilva. Su valor y situación en Canarias.

Matović B, et al. Comparison of stand structure in managed and virgin european beech forests in Serbia. Šumarski list. 2018;142:47–57.

Kiš, A., Stojšić, V., & Dinić, A. In

Kobyakov, K. & Jakolev, J. Atlas of high conservation value areas, and analysis of gaps and representativeness of the protected area network in northwest Russia. (Finnish Environment Institute, 2013).

Diku, A. & Shuka, L.

Burrascano S, et al. It’s a long way to the top: Plant species diversity in the transition from managed to old-growth forests. J. Veg. Sci. 2018;29:98–109.

Growth and Assemblage Dynamics of Temperate Forest Tree Species Match Physiological Resilience to Changes in Atmospheric Chemistry

Vegetation impact on atmospheric moisture transport under increasing land-ocean temperature contrasts