The anthropogenic pressure exerted on forest ecosystems in recent decades, driven in part by the increasing use of woody biomass for bioenergy, technical applications, and construction, has led to the degradation of many natural and semi-natural systems, particularly in tropical regions. These phenomena are frequently associated with the unsustainable and/or illegal exploitation of forest resources. The harvesting, processing, and transportation of wood and its derivatives can generate significant negative impacts on the environment, as well as at local and global economic and social levels. Over the last twenty years, focus has turned toward the sustainable use of forest biomass, stimulating concrete actions and effective tools aimed at preventing such impacts and mitigating their effects. These virtuous initiatives have involved political decision-makers, private companies, associations, and individual citizens. Forest certification emerged as a tool designed to prevent negative impacts and threats to national and international forest heritage through the adoption of appropriate practices based on the careful planning and monitoring of woody biomass management and use.
In Italy, as of 31 December 2024, the forest area certified under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™) scheme reached 1,061,059 hectares (representing an increase of nearly 8% compared to 2023). Meanwhile, the area certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) scheme totaled 115,118 hectares (a 35% increase over the previous year)

The indicator refers to carbon stock, i.e., the amount of carbon stored in Italy across the different forest carbon pools, and to the variation in carbon stock (carbon sink), which accounts for both the carbon sequestered and the emissions released due to wildfires, harvesting, and natural mortality within national forest ecosystems. Carbon stock and carbon sink are effective indicators for assessing the condition of a country’s forest resources, as they are influenced by forest productivity and, negatively, by both natural and anthropogenic disturbances (such as fires, logging, pests and pathogens, natural mortality, etc.).
Carbon stocks in Italian forests are increasing, indicating a net positive balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals (carbon sink). This trend is partially driven by conservation and forest protection policies and, on the other hand, by a decrease in harvested timber volumes due to complex economic and social factors. Emissions from forest fires remain a significant concern. The trend of the national carbon sink over the period 1990–2023 has been heavily affected by a reduction in GHG removals associated with areas burned annually. In fact, the impact of biomass loss from large-scale wildfires in 1990, 1993, 2007, and 2017 is particularly evident in the carbon sink trend. This highlights the critical role of wildfires in shaping the contribution of national forests to the global carbon cycle