La forestry statistics It is much more than a collection of tables and numbers about forests. It is the foundation that allows us to know how much forest area there is, who manages it, what is being used, and how the sector is evolving over time. Without this data, it would be virtually impossible to plan effective public policies or guide the sustainable forest management or assess the impact of fires and different forestry practices.
In Spain, and especially in the Forest management in Galicia, has been developing in recent years a authentic forestry information and statistics system This system integrates information on land area, ownership, timber and other product harvesting, forest health, fires, certification, biodiversity, and much more. Furthermore, this entire statistical framework is supported by specific regulations and the obligation to publish data regularly so that government agencies, businesses, and citizens can consult and use it.
What is forestry statistics and what is it used for?
When we talk about forestry statistics, we are referring to the set of systematic data on the status, management and use of forest resourcesIt's not just about counting trees, but about having structured information on forest area, types of forests, who owns them, what uses are made of them, and how the ecosystem behaves in the face of threats such as fires or pests.
In the case of Spain, this information is gathered and presented in publications such as the Yearbook of Forestry StatisticsThis yearbook, which is produced by the relevant state-level administration, is a key reference because it compiles statistics from various autonomous communities and organizations, allowing for the analysis of trends and comparisons between different regions.
Forestry statistics fulfill several essential functions: they facilitate the monitoring of forest status, support forest planning, provide an objective basis for political and business decisions, and support the economic assessment of the forestry sector and its associated industryWithout this data, forest management would be little more than intuition.
Furthermore, some forestry information is integrated into other broader statistical systems, such as agricultural statistics yearbooks and the economic accounts of agriculture, where the forestry sector is considered a branch within the primary sector, especially relevant in territories such as Galicia due to its productive weight.
Main contents of the Yearbook of Forest Statistics in Spain
The Forestry Statistics Yearbook compiles a large volume of information on Spanish forests in an organized manner. First, it presents the distribution of forest area by autonomous communitiesdistinguishing between wooded mountains, treeless areas and other formations related to the forest environment.
This classification is supplemented with data on ownership of forest landdifferentiating between public and private property. These details are important because they condition both the planning and the management tools that can be applied, as well as the way in which the uses and investments are organized.
The yearbook also dedicates a section to planning and management instruments, detailing the fire prevention and forest managementForest management plans and other technical instruments that regulate how resources are exploited and conserved are included. Data on forest certification are also included, that is, on areas that have a recognized seal attesting to sustainable management.
Another key section focuses on active actions within the territory, incorporating information on repopulation efforts, silvicultural treatments (thinning, pruning, coppicing, etc.), forest improvement work, and conservation and restoration efforts. These statistics help to determine the actual efforts being made to maintain or improve the condition of forests.
The Yearbook also offers a detailed analysis of the Forest health and defense against pests and diseasesThis section compiles data from surveillance campaigns, the presence of harmful organisms, control measures, and specific actions to protect forest areas.
Forestry uses and economic activity
One of the most interesting sections of forestry statistics is the one dedicated to the uses of forests and biomass energyThe Yearbook compiles data on the volume of timber harvested, including final felling, thinning, and other interventions, as well as data on firewood. This information can be broken down by species, territory, and, in some cases, by type of ownership or management.
Beyond timber, statistics are included for other forest products such as Cork, resin, pastures, hunting, and other secondary usesThis allows us to understand the multifunctionality of the forest, which is not limited to timber production, but generates a range of goods and services with a direct impact on rural economies.
This utilization data is linked to economic indicators, allowing for the estimation of production of the forestry sector and the industry linked to wood and other productsIn this way, the contribution of the forest to GDP and employment is made visible, as well as its weight within the forestry-industrial value chain.
In the specific case of Galicia, in addition to the state yearbook, the following are also produced regional forestry statistics yearbooks and editable tables that provide more in-depth information on resource use in privately managed forests. Tables allow access to data on forest resources and waste in privately managed forests by municipalities, species and properties, helping to better understand the productive dynamics of the territory.
The ability to view the tables in editable formats allows companies, consultants, and administrations analyze in detail market trends and the evolution of resourcesadapting management, investment or territorial planning strategies with a solid quantitative basis.
Forest fires, biodiversity and protected areas
Forestry statistics cannot ignore such a critical phenomenon as... forest firesThe Yearbook and related databases usually include series with the number of incidents, affected area, type of fires and territorial distribution, which is key to designing prevention strategies and improving the organization of firefighting resources.
Along with fires, another very relevant area is that of protected natural areas and biodiversity linked to the forest environmentThe statistics include information on areas included in protected areas (parks, reserves, Natura 2000 sites, etc.), as well as on conservation actions carried out in these areas.
The interaction between conservation and productive use is reflected in indicators that show the extent to which forests provide ecosystem services beyond timber: soil protection, water regulation, carbon sequestration, and landscape value. This comprehensive view is supported by data that allows for the combination of ecological and economic values within the same analytical framework.
In this way, forestry statistics become a key tool for moving towards management models that not only measure how much is cut, but also how decisions affect the ecosystem resilience and biodiversity conservationThe presence of environmental and conservation indicators in yearbooks reflects this change of focus.
In parallel, information on reforestation, silvicultural treatments and habitat improvement actions allows us to assess whether the impact of harvesting and the damage caused by fires and their consequences is being adequately compensated. impact on the groundpests or other degradation factors.
Regulatory framework for forestry statistics in Galicia
Galicia has specific regulations that reinforce the role of the forestry statistics as a legal obligationLaw 7/2012, of June 28, on forests of Galicia, dedicates article 103 entirely to the “Galician forestry statistics”, establishing the need to have reliable information on the sector.
Furthermore, the first additional provision of Decree 50/2014, April 10, which regulates the timber and wood, bark, pasture and mycological uses in privately managed forests or lands, as well as the content and operation of the Forestry Sector Companies Registry, imposes on the competent department the obligation to publish and disseminate, in the first three months of each year, the data of the forest uses requested or communicated in the previous year.
This data must be broken down by forest district and municipality, in compliance with the statistical regulations of Galicia and with the provisions regarding statistical planning and programming. This translates into a clear obligation of transparency and public availability of information.
The working group for the revision of the Galician Forestry Plan, established within the Galician Forestry Council in 2015, went even further, indicating as a priority issue having up-to-date and reliable statistics on various forestry activities. Among them, the Registry of Neighboring Forests in Man Común (MVMC) was mentioned: number of classified forests and surface, disaggregated by councils and forestry districts, number of communities, number of community members and communities in an irregular situation.
Detailed information was also requested about the Area reforested annually by species and forest districtsas well as the area worked each year through silvicultural treatments. Similarly, it was requested that, within the first three months of each year, data on the area subject to harvesting and timber production by species, forest district, type of ownership and management form (public or private), along with other forest products and uses, be published.
The Forestry Information and Statistics System of Galicia
In November 2017, a Special non-permanent commission for the study and analysis of reforms in forest policy, fire prevention and suppression, and the review of the Galician Forestry Plan. This commission approved in July 2018 a report that included, among other measures, the creation of a “Galician Forestry Information and Statistics System”.
The idea behind this system is to have a stable tool that allows to carry out solid diagnoses of the forestry sector and serve as a basis for decision-making in both public policy and business activity. To achieve this, it is essential to integrate and harmonize data from diverse sources: administrative records, reports of resource use, forest inventories, and other information systems.
The report also proposed that the Ministry of Rural Affairs prepare a specific report on the situation of the communities that own neighboring forests in commonThis report should detail the organizational structure of the communities, their compliance with legal obligations, and the existence of forest management and planning instruments for their forests.
To reinforce this approach, the Commission recommended ensuring that the Forestry policy will not be absorbed by fire prevention and suppression activitiesHence the proposal to clearly separate the instrumental entity in charge of the fire extinguishing device from the management units responsible for forest planning, management and regulation.
This separation materialized with the Decree 149 / 2018, which configured the organic structure of the Consellería do Medio Rural and created, for the first time in the Xunta de Galicia, a department dedicated exclusively to forestry policy: the Dirección Xeral de Planificación e Ordenación Forestal. Among its functions was expressly included that of “ensuring knowledge of the forest environment based on updated statistical information”.
Publications, observatories, and real-time data
As a result of this regulatory and institutional framework, the Galician forestry administration publishes periodically forest statistics yearbooksFor example, there are references to the 2018 Forest Statistics Yearbook (in PDF format) and the corresponding 2019 yearbook, available both in web version and in editable tables.
These tables allow access to the data on utilization in privately managed forests by councilThis facilitates a very detailed analysis of the production situation. From 2020 onwards, the information is centralized and can be accessed at a specific address, integrating new series while maintaining statistical continuity.
In addition, the Consellería do Medio Rural has a Forest Observatory This platform allows users to obtain specific data on forest resource production in near real-time. It is particularly useful for industry operators, who can monitor market trends and harvesting practices with less time lag than annual publications.
The information generated by these instruments must be contextualized within the Yearbooks of Agrarian Statistics and Economic Accounts of AgricultureThe forestry sector is presented as an agricultural branch integrated into the overall production of Galicia's primary sector, characterized by its diversity and richness. This helps to situate forestry activity within the general economy of rural areas.
It is worth remembering that, in extraordinary situations such as the health emergency due to COVID-19Some formal obligations related to the management of communal forests have been affected. For example, postponements were established until December 31, 2021, for the renewal of governing boards, the updating of community member censuses, accounting, and the holding of assemblies, which also impacts the availability and updating of certain data.
Cookies, web analytics and digital forestry statistics
The dissemination of forestry statistics is largely carried out through institutional websites. In this context, it is important to understand the Use of cookies and analytics tools that use sites such as that of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).
Cookies are files that are downloaded to the user's device when browsing a website and allow, among other things, store and retrieve information about browsing habitsFrom the perspective of these portals, they are fundamental tools for providing information society services and improving the user experience.
There are different types of cookies. On the one hand, there are the own cookies Third-party cookies are classified based on who manages the domain from which the data is sent and processed. They are also classified according to how long they remain in the browser: session cookies, which are deleted when the window is closed, and persistent cookies, which remain for a longer period.
Depending on their purpose, we can talk about technical cookies (essential for the website to function), personalization cookies (which adapt the user experience), analytical cookies (which collect usage data to compile statistics), advertising cookies (which manage ad spaces), and others. behavioral advertising (target ads based on user behavior). This entire framework is described in documents such as the Guide on the use of cookies from the Spanish Data Protection Agency.
In the case of MITECO, the tool is used Adobe Analytics To understand how people interact with the web and applications, this solution uses a small set of cookies to collect data and report website usage statistics, sending the information in aggregate form without personally identifying users or sharing it with third parties.
Types of cookies on forestry portals and consent
Analytics cookies, such as those from Adobe Analytics, allow you to know, for example, which statistical reports are consulted most often, how long users stay on a page, or from which devices the tables are accessed. forestry statisticsThis information helps administrations improve usability and prioritize content, without interfering with the basic functioning of the portal.
These non-essential cookies may accept or rejectThe decision is usually managed through a dialog box that appears upon accessing the portal. The user has the option to accept all cookies, reject them except for essential ones, or configure them individually, in accordance with the entity's cookie policy.
In addition to analytics cookies, there may be others linked to embedded content, such as those generated when elements of the social network X (formerly Twitter)On public websites, it is usually stated that these types of cookies are only created if the user is logged into the social network and a link is provided to their privacy policy for more details.
Along with these, essential technical cookies are used to manage consent itself. One example is the cookie called miteco-complianceThis is a proprietary, technical, and session cookie that records whether the user has accepted or rejected non-essential cookies. This prevents the notification from being repeatedly displayed to those who have already made a decision and ensures the portal functions correctly.
The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge establishes clear mechanisms for the acceptance or rejection of the cookie policyUpon entering the portal, a central message appears explaining the policy and offering several options, complying with transparency obligations and data protection and privacy regulations.
This entire network of cookies and web analytics is not intended to track invasively, but improve the statistical dissemination serviceensuring that publications such as the Forest Statistics Yearbook reach the maximum number of people and are easy to consult and understand.
Forestry statistics, supported by laws, decrees, specialized information systems, and digital analytics tools, have become a key element in managing forests and resources in Spain, and especially in Galicia. Thanks to this combination of rigorous data, transparency in publication, and continuous improvement in how it is presented, government agencies, businesses, and citizens have a solid foundation for understanding what is happening in forests and how to guide management toward a more sustainable future.
