Improving carbon sequestration and stocking as a function of forestry

Indicators are parameters which can be measured and correspond to a particular criterion. They measure and help to monitor the status and changes of forests in quantitative, qualitative and descriptive terms that reflect forest values as seen by those who defined each criterion. Several indicators have been proposed to assess Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). At European level, the Pan-European Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), organised in six criteria, were developed in 2002 by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe. The first criterion of this document (C1) promotes sustainable forest management by describing the evolution and status of forest resources in Europe and explaining/addressing forests' contribution to the global carbon cycles.