Full Breakdown
Italy’s Forests Overtake Farmland for First Time Since the Middle Ages
6/29/2026, 4:51:52 AM
Forests Surpass Farmland for the First Time Since the Medieval Period
In 2020, Italy’s forested area exceeded farmland for the first time since the medieval period, reflecting farm abandonment and spontaneous tree regrowth.
Historical Context and Scale
Centuries of deforestation left forest cover at ~12 % of the peninsula. In the last two decades, 1.3 million farms closed, freeing ~850,000 ha. By 2020 forests spanned >100,000 km² (?11 million ha), up from 6 million ha in 1970. About 495 municipalities now exceed 80 % tree cover, holding 14 % of the forest estate while housing 1 % of the population. Three-quarters of forest lies in 3,596 mountain municipalities, home to 13.5 % of Italians. Between 2021-2025, 932 municipalities recorded net in-migration >10 per 1,000, many in wooded areas.
Key Actors & Perspectives
PEFC Italia, the forest-certification body, coordinated the survey. Secretary-General Antonio Brunori and President Marco Bussone highlighted forests as strategic infrastructure and noted Italy’s shift to a forest nation. Marcetelli (Rieti) exemplifies extreme reforestation, with 98 % tree cover and €8 million annual ecosystem-service value.
Official Statements & Responses
PEFC Italia frames woodland as strategic infrastructure that can boost local economies and climate goals. It also notes Italy remains a leading timber importer, indicating a gap between forest growth and industrial use. The report quantifies ecosystem services, citing carbon storage, water filtration and soil protection.
Criticism & Opposition
Analysts warn forest expansion erodes historic agro-ecosystems, removing meadows, terraces and mixed-crop fields. Biodiversity experts note that while mountain reforestation aids some species, lowland monoculture “hollows out biodiversity at both ends.” Reliance on imported wood underscores limited commercial use of new growth.
On-the-Ground Impacts
In Marcetelli, forest cover yields nearly €8 million per year in clean-air, water-regulation and carbon-sequestration services. The woods support bears, wolves, wild boar and red deer, and create opportunities for eco-tourism and sustainable hunting.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Source 1 lists forest area as 60,000 sq mi (?155,000 km²), while Source 3 reports >100,000 km² (?11 million ha), indicating measurement inconsistency. Data on timber processing and biodiversity impacts are lacking.
Verbatim Quotes
- “not only as an environmental component, but as strategic infrastructure,” — Antonio Brunori, Secretary-General, PEFC Italia
- “almost without our knowledge,” — Marco Bussone, President, PEFC Italia
- “As the mountains revert to woodland, the lowlands tighten into intensive monoculture, a double shift the authors warn is hollowing out biodiversity at both ends.” — PEFC Italia report
What’s Next
The report proposes treating woodland as productive infrastructure, a framing that may shape future policy discussions on sustainable forestry, timber utilization and the preservation of both reforested and remaining agricultural landscapes.
