Overview of forest statistics
Data on forest resources is collected by forest inventory. Up to 1992, data on all forests was collected based on the traditional standwise forest inventory describing all forest subcompartments. Since then, only the state forests have been inventoried with the classic 10-year cycle, while private forests have been inventoried according to their registration in the Land Cadastre and the state's financial possibilities. This has created a situation where the inventory data for a large part of the forest subcompartments is out of date and in some cases the data is more than 20 years old.
Real-time updated forest information can be explored on the subpage Up-to-date forest information.
National Forest Inventory or NFI
Data on Estonian forest resources is collected by forest inventory. Estonia has conducted the National Forest Inventory since 1999. Currently, it is being carried out by the Environment Agency.
The National Forest Inventory (NFI) is a sample survey that measures sample plots nationwide. The main objective of the NFI is to provide the estimates about major characteristics of forests. In addition, other data such as distribution of land by land-use categories, afforestation and growing stock of non-forest land is recorded. The NFI data is used in the preparation of greenhouse gas inventory, land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector estimates.
Since the NFI is a sample survey, there is always a possibility for error due to probabilistic selection when estimating a characteristic of the population based on the characteristics of the sample plots in the statistical survey. Thus, the presented value and the actual value of the indicators may differ to the extent of a statistical error.
More information
- Additional materials
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- Forest Yearbooks (in Estonian)