Pan-European maps and models of current and future tree species distributions and their growth potential

Wöhlbrandt, Anna (author), Skudnik, Mitja (author)

Amid increasing temperatures and extended drought periods, forest managers require comprehensive information regarding the suitability of various tree species under changing climatic conditions. To address this need, we assembled a unique dataset spanning Europe, incorporating multiple data sources such as national forest inventories, forest management plans, and data from ICP Forests. Our database ultimately included over six million individual trees across 860,000 forest plots throughout Europe. Using this extensive dataset, we developed Species Distribution Models (SDM) for 30 and Site Index Models (SIM) for 25 European tree species, the latter limited by data availability. Both model types were used to generate predictions at a spatial resolution of 1 × 1 km for the periods 2011–2040, 2041–2070, and 2071–2100 under climate change scenarios RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The model predictions aim to estimate the top height and assess climate suitability across Europe under future climate conditions. One potential application of these models is in a decision support system (DSS) to inform tree species selection and management strategies in the context of climate change. Provided are the models, prediction outputs, and supporting information, as the underlying database is restricted by data use agreements.

• Language: English
• Keywords: site index model, species distribution model, top height, climate suitability, climate change, Europe, reforestation, tree species selection
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 15 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 67, art. 113027
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-184826
• UDC: 581.9:630*17:551.58(4)
• ISSN on article: 2352-3409
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2026.113027
• COBISS.SI-ID: 284704515
• Publication date in RUL: 15.07.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Data in brief
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2352-3409
• COBISS.SI-ID: 32117977

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: modeliran rastiščni indeks, model napovedovanja drevesnih vrst, zgornja višina, ustreznost klime, klimatske spremembe, Evropa, zaraščanje, izbira drevesnih vrst