On 7 October, IGN published the 2026 results of the national forest inventory, based on nearly 60,000 field plots surveyed from 2021 to 2025.
Forests cover 17.7 million hectares in mainland France and Corsica and keep expanding by around 100,000 hectares a year.
Over 2016-2024, mortality reached 18.1 million m³ a year, 2.5 times higher than in the previous decade, against biological production of 88.7 million m³ a year. The forest carbon sink stands at 39 million tonnes of CO₂ a year, below its 2005-2013 level.
Summary written by databiomass with the help of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication. Our method
Suggested citation: databiomass.com, “French forests: area keeps growing, tree mortality up 2.5-fold”, 13 October 2026, based on IGN — Inventaire forestier national.