Carbon Legacy of Forest Degradation Foregone: can Europe's Forests Contribute to Deep Decarbonization?

Contemporary European forests, comprising 161 Mha, play a large role in mitigation of the EU carbon emissions. These intensively managed forests, roughly compensate 10% of EU emissions in forest carbon, in synchrony with the harvest for lumber, fibre and bioenergy, . But this has not always been the case; European forests are recovering since roughly 1850 from thousands of years of human induced degradation. The impact of more recent management is profound and has stimulated a worldwide unique and unprecedented recovery of this forest biome, partly in terms of area, but mainly in forest density that is, biomass per hectare increases. Based on what we know of the recent historic development, can these forests further contribute to deep decarbonization and how? We outline historic development of European forests since roughly 0 AD. We sketch evidence on degradation and deforestation, and on the impact of forest management on restoring the forest growth thus feeding on biomass recovery. We estimate the historical trajectory of the recovery from forest degradation. We discuss the future pathways of European forest resources, and the prospects for the European-model recovery to occur in degraded forests of the other continents. Based on this evidence from the past, we outline what Climate Smart Forestry could mean in the European circumstances aiming to further strengthen this role of European forests. Big scientific challenges remain to understand and project the future development of these forests under climate change and natural disturbances closely entangled with forest management and new demands of industry in the bio-economy.