Articles | Volume 25, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-77-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-77-2025
Research article
 | 
06 Jan 2025
Research article |  | 06 Jan 2025

Impacts on and damage to European forests from the 2018–2022 heat and drought events

Florian Knutzen, Paul Averbeck, Caterina Barrasso, Laurens M. Bouwer, Barry Gardiner, José M. Grünzweig, Sabine Hänel, Karsten Haustein, Marius Rohde Johannessen, Stefan Kollet, Mortimer M. Müller, Joni-Pekka Pietikäinen, Karolina Pietras-Couffignal, Joaquim G. Pinto, Diana Rechid, Efi Rousi, Ana Russo, Laura Suarez-Gutierrez, Sarah Veit, Julian Wendler, Elena Xoplaki, and Daniel Gliksman

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Cited articles

Aalto, J. and Venäläinen, A. (Eds.): Climate change and forest management affect forest fire risk in Fennoscandia, Finnish Meteorological Institute Reports 2021:3, Helsinki, 156 pp., http://hdl.handle.net/10138/330898 (last access: 19 November 2024), 2021. 
Abatzoglou, J. T. and Williams, A. P.: Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 11770–11775, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607171113, 2016. 
Abatzoglou, J. T., Williams, A. P., and Barbero, R.: Global emergence of anthropogenic climate change in fire weather indices, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 326–336, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080959, 2019. 
Aeschbach-Hertig, W. and Gleeson, T.: Regional strategies for the accelerating global problem of groundwater depletion, Nat. Geosci., 5, 853–861, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1617, 2012. 
Agrar-&Forstbericht Südtirol: Bericht über das Jahr 2021, https://www.provinz.bz.it/land-forstwirtschaft/landwirtschaft/publikationen.asp?publ_action=300&publ_image_id=616940 (last access: 30 October 2024), 2021. 
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Our research, involving 22 European scientists, investigated drought and heat impacts on forests in 2018–2022. Findings reveal that climate extremes are intensifying, with central Europe being most severely impacted. The southern region showed resilience due to historical drought exposure, while northern and Alpine areas experienced emerging or minimal impacts. The study highlights the need for region-specific strategies, improved data collection, and sustainable practices to safeguard forests.
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