Up to 1.7 million hectares of Ukrainian forests have already been battered by military combat – with the startling level of loss coming as the Russian and Ukrainian casualty count in the 2-and-a-half-year meatgrinder passed 1 million dead or wounded.
While the vast majority of forests used for timber production are not involved in direct combat, new research suggests that up to 14% of Ukraine’s total timber stock—or about 377 million cubic metres of growing volume—has already been damaged by heavy shelling, contamination, and unexploded ordnance. The damage to forests will take decades to recover.
That is according to Viktor Myroniuk from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, who, in collaboration with researchers from the USDA Forest Service, Oregon State University, and Sweden’s Agricultural Sciences, have been using advanced remote sensing to assess the state of Ukraine’s forests.
Combining field data with satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 program, researchers have, for the first time, mapped forest cover changes over time and also identified different tree species distributions across regions most impacted by the war.
“Russia’s invasion has led to widespread destruction across the country, affecting both urban and rural environments,” according to lead author Viktor Myroniuk from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine: “The research found that 67,000 hectares of forest have experienced canopy disturbance, with northern, eastern, and southern regions facing the most significant losses.”
“Some of the hardest-hit areas include the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, forests in Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts, and the southern Kherson region, all of which have seen heavy fighting since the war began.”
Lead author Viktor Myroniuk on the impact of miltary activities on Ukraine’s war torn forests.
The new study marks the first time forest researchers have conducted a nationwide forest resource inventory since the start of the war—almost 1000 days ago, with researchers now looking to use the data to help with future monitoring and recovery efforts, which can even assist in predicting forest changes in Russian-occupied territories (30% of Ukraine’s land mass) where data is difficult to gather.
According to the forest inventory, coniferous forests, particularly Scots pine and spruce, dominate the northern and mountainous regions like the Carpathians, while mixed deciduous forests are most common in the central and southern parts of the country.
Ukraine is using AI to demine the world’s deadliest forests.
In March, Wood Central reported that Ukraine had struck a deal with Peter Thiel, who, with Elon Musk, co-founded Pay Pal and was the first outside investor in Facebook, with the agreement seeing AI deployed to remove millions of landmines from forests, fields, and roads every month.
According to a report published by Forests Europe last year, occupied forest areas and forest areas on the front line correspond “to more than 1 million hectares of areas designated for sustainable forest management,” with heavy disturbance in aboveground ecosystems, soils and water systems significantly impacting forest health.
As it stands, Ukraine’s forest recovery—part of a major economic reconstruction that could cost more than US $400 billion—is heavily reliant on continued financial assistance from Western economies, specifically the United States.
Last month, Wood Central reported that Kamala Harris – who currently leads former President Donald Trump in the polls – remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, vowing to continue the Biden administration’s support for the Zelenskyy government.
- Click on Wood Central’s special feature to read more about Ukraine’s challenges in reconstructing its forests and why it is now a sleeping giant for timber production. To find out how Russia is now trading conflict timbers out of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and selling into the Eurasian market, click here.
