Forest and other wooded land (FOWL)

Forest is defined as "Land spanning more than 0.5 ha with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use".

Forest is determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters in situ.

areas with young trees that have not yet reached but which are expected to reach a canopy cover of 10 percent and tree height of 5 meters. It also includes areas that are temporarily unstocked due to clearcutting as part of a forest management practice or natural disasters, and which are expected to be regenerated within 5 years. Local conditions may, in exceptional cases, justify that a longer time frame is used.
forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific environmental, scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest.
windbreaks, shelterbelts and corridors of trees with an area of more than 0.5 ha and width of more than 20 meters.
abandoned shifting cultivation land with a regeneration of trees that have, or is expected to reach, a canopy cover of 10 percent and tree height of 5 meters.
areas with mangroves in tidal zones, regardless whether this area is classified as land area or not.
rubber-wood, cork oak, energy wood and Christmas tree plantations.
with bamboo and palms provided that land use, height and canopy cover criteria are met.

Forest excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, such as fruit tree plantations (incl. olive orchards) and agroforestry systems when crops are grown under tree cover. Note: Some agroforestry systems where crops are grown only during the first years of the forest rotation should be classified as forest (Source: Forest Resources Assessment, 2010, modified).

Other wooded land (OWL) is defined as "Land not classified as “Forest”, spanning more than 0.5 ha; with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of 5-10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 percent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.

Moreover, the definition above has two options: a) The canopy cover of trees is between 5 and 10 percent; trees should be higher than 5 meters or able to reach 5 meters in situ, or b) The canopy cover of trees is less than 5 percent but the combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees is more than 10 percent. Includes areas of shrubs and bushes where no trees are present.

areas with trees that will not reach a height of 5 meters in situ and with a canopy cover of 10 percent or more, e.g. some alpine tree vegetation types, arid zone mangroves, etc.
areas with bamboo and palms provided that land use, height and canopy cover criteria are met (Source: Forest Resources Assessment, 2010).

Type of indicator	Sectoral
Indicator C29	Forest and other wooded land (FOWL)
Definition	The indicator shows the area of forest and other wooded land (FOWL). It consists of 2 sub-indicators: 1. area of FOWL 2. share of FOWL in the total area The indicator provides a frame of reference for European forest resources. Forest is defined as "Land spanning more than 0.5 ha with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use". Moreover: Forest is determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters in situ. Forest includes: areas with young trees that have not yet reached but which are expected to reach a canopy cover of 10 percent and tree height of 5 meters. It also includes areas that are temporarily unstocked due to clearcutting as part of a forest management practice or natural disasters, and which are expected to be regenerated within 5 years. Local conditions may, in exceptional cases, justify that a longer time frame is used. forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific environmental, scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest. windbreaks, shelterbelts and corridors of trees with an area of more than 0.5 ha and width of more than 20 meters. abandoned shifting cultivation land with a regeneration of trees that have, or is expected to reach, a canopy cover of 10 percent and tree height of 5 meters. areas with mangroves in tidal zones, regardless whether this area is classified as land area or not. rubber-wood, cork oak, energy wood and Christmas tree plantations. with bamboo and palms provided that land use, height and canopy cover criteria are met. Forest excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, such as fruit tree plantations (incl. olive orchards) and agroforestry systems when crops are grown under tree cover. Note: Some agroforestry systems where crops are grown only during the first years of the forest rotation should be classified as forest (Source: Forest Resources Assessment, 2010, modified). Other wooded land (OWL) is defined as "Land not classified as “Forest”, spanning more than 0.5 ha; with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of 5-10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 percent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use. Moreover, the definition above has two options: a) The canopy cover of trees is between 5 and 10 percent; trees should be higher than 5 meters or able to reach 5 meters in situ, or b) The canopy cover of trees is less than 5 percent but the combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees is more than 10 percent. Includes areas of shrubs and bushes where no trees are present. OWL includes: areas with trees that will not reach a height of 5 meters in situ and with a canopy cover of 10 percent or more, e.g. some alpine tree vegetation types, arid zone mangroves, etc. areas with bamboo and palms provided that land use, height and canopy cover criteria are met (Source: Forest Resources Assessment, 2010). For terms and definitions see also the following document: www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/timber/soef/Definitions_Quantitative_indicators_for_website.pdf
Unit of measurement	1: 1000 ha 2: % of total land
Data source	Primary source: FOREST EUROPE, UNECE and FAO enquiry on pan-European quantitative indicators State of Europe's Forests Report (www.unece.org/forests/fr/outputs/soef2011.html) Eurostat, Forestry statistics
References/location of the data	Data availability at present: State of Europe's Forests Report (SoEF), 2011, Indicator 1.1, Forest area, Table A1.2: Extent of forest and other wooded land, 2010 (www.unece.org/forests/fr/outputs/soef2011.html). Data are also available in Eurostat database, Forestry statistics: FOWL: Table: for_area Total area: table demo_r_d3area
Data collection level	National (NUTS 0).
Frequency	Every 5 years (e.g. 2010, 2015).
Delay	1 year (e.g. data of 2015 available in 2016).
Comments /caveats	For Croatia, Eurostat reports no figure for total area; land area was used to fill the gap. Last available year is 2015.