Italy Forest Information and Data

According to the U.N. FAO, 31.1% or about 9,149,000 ha of Italy is forested, according to FAO. Of this 1.0% ( 93,000 ) is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. Italy had 621,000 ha of planted forest.

Change in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2010, Italy lost an average of 77,950 ha or 1.03% per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, Italy gained 20.5% of its forest cover, or around 1,559,000 ha.

Italy's forests contain 558 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass. Biodiversity and Protected Areas: Italy has some 710 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 3.4% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 5.1% are threatened. Italy is home to at least 5599 species of vascular plants, of which 12.7% are endemic. 7.2% of Italy is protected under IUCN categories I-V.

Italy pictures

The following contains data relating to forest cover in Italy

Previous version of this profile (2009)

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Forest Cover | Breakdown of forest types | Change in Forest Cover | Deforestation | Primary forest | Planted forest | Forest designation | Forest ownership | Growing stock | Carbon stock | Disturbances affecting forest land | Removals | Removals Value | Employment | Forest policy | Human resources | Revenue | Agreements | Protected areas | Biodiversity - Wildlife | Biodiversity - Plants | Environment | Land use / Resources | Economy | Population / Demographics | Infrastructure | Health | References | Books

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Italy: Forest Cover, 2010 Total Land Area (1000 ha) 29411 Total Forest Area (1000 ha) 9149 Percent Forest Cover 31 Primary Forest Cover (1000 ha) 93 Primary Forest, % total forest 1 Other wooded land (1000 ha) 1767 Percent other wooded land 6 Italy: Breakdown of forest types, 2010 Primary forest (1000 ha | % of forest area) 93 1 Other naturally regenerated forest (1000 ha | % of forest area) 8435 92 Planted Forest (1000 ha | % of forest area) 621 7 Italy: Trends in Total (Net) Forest Cover, 1990-2010 TOTAL FOREST COVER (1000 ha) 1990 2000 2005 2010 7590 8369 8759 9149 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 78 78 78 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 0.98 0.92 0.88 Italy: Trends in Natural Forest Cover (Deforestation), 1990-2010 FOREST COVER (excluding planted forests) (1000 ha) 1990 2000 2005 2010 7043 7785 8157 8528 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 74 74 74 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 1.1 1.05 0.95 Italy: Trends in Primary or Old Growth Forest Cover, 1990-2010 PRIMARY FOREST COVER (1000 ha) 1990 2000 2005 2010 93 93 93 93 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 0 0 0 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 0 0 0 Italy: Trends in Planted Forest Cover, 1990-2010 PLANTED FOREST COVER (1000 ha) 1990 2000 2005 2010 547 584 602 621 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 4 4 4 ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation 1990-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 0.66 0.61 0.62 Italy: Primary designated function (percent) Production Protection of soil and water Conservation of biodiversity Social services Multiple use Other None or unknown 45 20 36 n.s. 0 0 0 Italy: Forest ownership and management rights 2005 (percent) OWNERSHIP PATTERN Public ownership Private ownership Other 34 66 0 PRIVATE OWNERSHIP Individuals Business entities and institutions Local, indigenous and tribal communities 88 12 0 HOLDER OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS OF PUBLIC FORESTS Public administration Individuals Business entities and Institutions Communities Other - - - - - Italy: Growing stock in forest GROWING STOCK IN FOREST Total (million m3) Per hectare (m3) Coniferous (million m3) Broadleaved (million m3) % commercial species 1384 151 504 880 100 GROWING STOCK IN FOREST Total (million m3) Per hectare (m3) Coniferous (million m3) Broadleaved (million m3) % commercial species 64 36 Italy: Trends in carbon stock in living forest biomass 1990-2010 CARBON STOCK IN LIVING FOREST BIOMASS (million metric tons) 1990 2000 2005 2010 375 467 512 558 CARBON STOCK IN LIVING FOREST BIOMASS (per hectare in tons) 2000 61 ANNUAL CHANGE (1 000 t/yr) 1990 2000 2005 2010 9 9 9 ANNUAL CHANGE PER HECTARE (t/ha/yr) 1990 2000 2005 2010 0.6 0.5 n.s. Italy: Area of forest affected by fire and other disturbances 2005 FOREST FIRE 1000 ha % wild fire (not managed burn) 29 100 EXCLUDING FOREST FIRE Insects Diseases Other biotic agents Abiotic factors Total (excluding fire) % of 2005 forest area 347 591 323 584 1845 21 Italy: Trends in removals of wood products 1990-2005 INDUSTRIAL ROUNDWOOD Total volume (1 000 m3 over bark) 1990 2000 2005 percent of which from forest 2005 4982 4031 3499 100 WOODFUEL Total volume (1 000 m3 over bark) 1990 2000 2005 percent of which from forest 2005 4895 6000 6542 100 Italy: Value of wood and NWFP removals 2005 Value of removals (million US$) Value per ha forest (US$) Industrial roundwood Woodfuel NWFP Total 209 335 329 873 n.s. Italy: Employment in forestry 1990-2005 TOTAL (1000 full-time employees) 1990 2000 2005 - - 47 IN PRIMARY PRODUCTION OF GOODS-FORESTRY (1000 full-time employees) 1990 2000 2005 56 36 41 IN MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS-CONSERVATION (1000 full-time employees) 1990 2000 2005 - - 6 Italy: Forest policy and legal framework 2008 National forest policy (year): Yes (2001) Sub-national forest policy: Yes National forest program (year) - status: Yes (2009) In implementation National forest law (year): Specific forest law (2001) Sub-national forest law: Yes Italy: Human resources within public forest institutions 2000-2008 2000 2005 2008 # % female # % female # % female 8304 11 7940 12 8374 15 Italy: Forest revenue and public expenditure on forestry 2005 Forest revenue Public expenditure (1000 US$) Domestic funding External funding Total (1000 US$) Operational expenditure Transfer payments Operational expenditure Transfer payments Operational expenditure Transfer payments - 693663 560640 122821 31489 816483 592128 Italy: Status of ratification of international conventions and agreements as of 1 January 2010 CbD: UNFCCC: Kyoto Protocol: UNCCD: ITTA: CITeS: Ramsar: World Heritage Convention: NlbI: [an error occurred while processing this directive] Italy: Environment Environment - current issues air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Natural hazards regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice Italy: Land use / Resources Land use (%) arable land: 27.79% permanent crops: 9.53% other: 62.68% (2001) Natural resources coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land Italy: Economy Economy - overview: Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed, welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level. GDP - per capita $28,300 (2005 est.) GDP - real growth rate (%) 0% (2005 est.) Agriculture - products fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish GDP - composition by sector (%) agriculture: 2.1%, industry: 28.8%, services: 69.1% (2005 est.) Industries tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics Population below poverty line (%) NA Debt - external $1.682 trillion (30 June 2005 est.) Labor force - by occupation (%) agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001) Italy: Population / Demographics Population (July 2005) 58,103,033 Population growth rate (%) (2005) 0.07% Population density (people/sq km) (2005) 197.6 Percent rural (2003) 32.6% Median age (years) total: 41.77 years Total fertility rate (children born/woman) 1.28 (2005 est.) Ethnic groups (%) Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) Largest Cities in Italy Cities and urban areas in Italy with population over 100,000 All figures are estimates for 2002. Rome Italy 2649500 3552600 Milan (Milano) Italy 1302000 4051500 Napoli Italy 992700 3620300 Torino Italy 898400 1617600 Palermo Italy 684800 947500 Genova Italy 628800 679000 Bologna Italy 380300 545700 Firenze (Florence) Italy 375500 825100 Catania Italy 337800 830700 Bari Italy 331700 331700 Venezia Italy 272100 272100 Messina Italy 259000 259000 Verona Italy 256100 256100 Trieste Italy 214500 214500 Padova Italy 211500 211500 Taranto Italy 207800 207800 Brescia Italy 192100 192100 Reggio di Calabria Italy 179600 179600 Modena Italy 176500 176500 Parma Italy 169300 169300 Cagliari Italy 163500 163500 Livorno Italy 160900 160900 Perugia Italy 158200 158200 Foggia Italy 154900 154900 Reggio nell'Emilia Italy 146000 146000 Salerno Italy 142000 142000 Ravenna Italy 138900 138900 Rimini Italy 131700 131700 Ferrara Italy 131600 131600 Siracusa Italy 126400 126400 Sassari Italy 120700 120700 Pescara Italy 115300 115300 Latina Italy 115200 115200 Vicenza Italy 110500 110500 Terni Italy 107800 107800 Forli Italy 107500 107500 Trento Italy 105900 105900 Novara Italy 101900 101900 Italy: Infrastructure Telephones - main lines in use 26.596 million (2003) Telephones - mobile cellular 55.918 million (2003) Roadways (km) total: 479,688 km paved: 479,688 km (including 6,620 km of expressways) (1999) Italy: Health Life expectancy at birth (years) total population: 79.68 years male: 76.75 years female: 82.81 years (2005 est.) Infant mortality rate 5.94 deaths/1,000 live births HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate (%) 0.5% (2001 est.) Italy : References & Data Sources  Environment, Land use / Resources, Economy, Population / Demographics, Infrastructure, Health -- CIA World Factbook, 2005  Forest Cover, Forest types, Breakdown of forest types, Change in Forest Cover, Primary forests, Forest designation, Disturbances affecting forest land, Value of forests, Production, trade and consumption of forest products -- The FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS's Global Forest Resources Assessment (2005 & 2010) and the State of the World's Forests (2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001)  Protected Areas, Plant and animal biodiversity -- United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. World Database on Protected Areas.  Biosphere reservers -- United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Man and Biosphere Program. 2004. UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory.  RAMSAR sites -- The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands . 2005. The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.  World Resources Institute's EarthTrends web site  The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  Population Data -- United Nations Population Fund  With additional analysis by Rhett Butler of mongabay.com Select a Country or Region INDEX Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Caribbean Cayman Islands Central African Republic Central America Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Cote d�Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic DR Congo East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Oceania Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Lucia Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South America South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States of America United States Virgin Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Vietnam Virgin Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Tropical rainforest information  World Rainforests  Rainforest Structure  Rainforest Biodiversity  Canopy  Forest Floor  Rainforest Waters  Indigenous People  Deforestation  Global Importance  Rainforest Conservation  Country Reports update soon  References  Deforestation Tables  The Amazon Rainforest update soon  The Congo Rainforest update soon  Deforestation in Brazil  Rainforest Images   Web mongabay.com Mongabay Rainforests Mongabay News Mongabay Photos