A. Relevance and sustainability context
A.1 Policy relevance
The "Deadwood Volume" indicator measures the amount of standing and lying deadwood in forests. Deadwood is a key structural component of forest ecosystems and provides habitat for numerous species, including fungi, insects, birds and microorganisms. The indicator is therefore highly relevant for biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management and the implementation of national and European biodiversity strategies.
A.2 Sustainability and / or comparative evaluation options
Sustainability perspective: Deadwood volume can be compared with biodiversity targets, ecological reference values and minimum thresholds required to support forest-dependent species. Comparisons with historical conditions and different forest types can help assess ecosystem integrity and habitat quality.
Bioeconomy perspective: The indicator can be related to the amount of woody biomass potentially available for material or energy use. It therefore highlights trade-offs between biomass mobilization and biodiversity conservation, as retaining deadwood may reduce biomass extraction but supports important ecosystem services.
B. Data availability
B.1 Stage of development
It is a semi-established indicator. The indicator is already used in forest biodiversity monitoring and sustainable forest management assessments but is typically less frequently reported than traditional production indicators.
B.2 Data sources
Historical data: National Forest Inventory (Bundeswaldinventur) conducted by the Thünen Institute.
Future projections: German Projection Report and forest-related scenario studies such as the DIFENs project (Dealing with Impacts on Forests under changing End-use demand, climate change, Natural disturbances and Policy goals). Future assessments may require interpretation of model outputs and management assumptions.
B.3 Coverage over time and replicability
Historical observations are available approximately every five years (from NFI (national forest inventory) and CI (carbon inventory) in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022).
Future projections may be provided at annual or five-year intervals up to 2050.
Replicability is high because deadwood is already measured through established forest inventory procedures.
B.4 Coverage across scales and sectors; compatibility
The indicator is available for the German forestry sector at national level and can potentially be disaggregated to federal-state level. It is compatible with biodiversity monitoring systems, sustainable forest management indicators and conservation reporting frameworks.
C. Considerations for operationalization
C.1 Feasibility: Fit for monitoring
Robustness ranking: very robust. Historical observations are based on long-established inventory methods with high methodological consistency. Future estimates are associated with greater uncertainty due to changing management practices, disturbance regimes and climate impacts.
C.2 Institutions
Historical monitoring is conducted primarily by the Thünen Institute through the National Forest Inventory. Future projections may involve the Thünen Institute, Öko-Institut and other research institutions depending on the selected scenario framework.
C.3 Future prospects
The continuation of monitoring is considered highly likely. The indicator is already established and is expected to remain important due to increasing policy attention to biodiversity, ecosystem restoration and nature conservation objectives.
C.4 Costs, considerations and reproducibility
Costs mainly arise from forest inventory implementation, data processing, scenario modelling and graphical presentation. The indicator benefits from existing monitoring infrastructure and therefore has a high level of reproducibility.
C.5 Potential for automation
Data processing, indicator calculation and visualization can be partly automated. However, expert interpretation remains important, particularly when evaluating ecological significance and biodiversity implications.
C.6 Presentation options and breakdown / sub-indicator needs
The indicator can be presented as:
- Long-term time series of deadwood volume;
- Deadwood expressed in cubic metres (m³), carbon stock or CO₂ equivalents;
- Breakdown by standing and lying deadwood;
- Breakdown by tree species groups, diameter classes and decay stages where available;
- Comparison with biodiversity targets, ecological reference values or retention benchmarks.
C.7 Potential for scenario integration
The indicator has high potential for integration into biodiversity, forest management and bioeconomy scenarios. It can be used to explore the consequences of alternative management strategies for both biodiversity conservation and biomass availability.
C.8 Interlinkages and alignment with other monitoring activities
The indicator is closely linked to:
- Biodiversity reporting;
- National Biodiversity Strategy monitoring;
- Sustainable forest management monitoring;
- Forest ecosystem condition assessments;
- Forest resource monitoring;
- Bioeconomy monitoring addressing trade-offs between resource use and ecosystem services.
Further Comments:
The Deadwood Volume indicator should ideally be interpreted together with the Volume of Broadleaf Habitat Trees indicator and other forest biodiversity indicators. Detailed information on standing and lying deadwood, decay stages and tree species composition can substantially improve ecological interpretation. For bioeconomy assessments, the indicator provides valuable insights into the balance between biodiversity retention and biomass utilization. Consistent monitoring methods and definitions are essential for ensuring comparability over time.