On 23 May 2024, ForestPaths showcased its latest development, the European Forest Disturbance Atlas (EFDA), at the Joint Research Centre LULUCF workshop. This significant contribution was part of a special session focused on forest monitoring within EU-funded projects. The EFDA, created in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, now spans from 1985 to 2023 and covers 38 European countries. This extended time frame and the introduction of a new methodology allow for the detection of multiple disturbance events per series and the development of a cause-attribution workflow.

During the JRC LULUCF workshop, ForestPaths partner Alba Viana-Soto presented the EFDA, which provides high-resolution, open-source maps that are fully operational for annual updates. These maps feature three visual components to interpret disturbance data: the year of the most recent and greatest disturbance event, the frequency of disturbances within the time series and the attribution of disturbance agents, such as wind, bark beetles, fire, harvest and mixed agents. This detailed information is critical for advancing the modelling of future impacts on forest composition, structure and carbon pools in Europe.

The EFDA aligns with the revised LULUCF Regulation, which emphasises enhanced monitoring requirements using digital technologies and comprehensive geospatial data. This dataset will be useful in developing empirical models of disturbance drivers and improving the overall understanding of forest disturbances in Europe. 

The data is accessible on Zenodo, with maps available per country as GeoTIFF, and through Earth Engine Apps for online viewing. The Technical University of Munich will continuously update and improve the quality of these maps. Stay tuned for future updates and explore the latest version of the EFDA to see the advancements in forest monitoring and disturbance analysis.