The forests of metropolitan France, which are composed largely of hardwoods (67%), are highly varied and offer environments rich in biodiversity: they are home to over 130 tree, 70 mammal, and 120 bird species.
The sustainable management of France’s forests is protective of ecosystems, soils, water and biological diversity, the objectives being to ensure good productivity and capacity to regenerate and to guarantee their protection against natural risks both now and in the future.
A specific feature of France: French Guiana has the European Union’s only tropical forest, covering an area of 8 million hectares with an exceptional biodiversity.
This forest contains several thousand plant species, including more than 150 species of trees that can be found on a single hectare; hundred and so mammals, almost 450 species of birds, around 200 reptiles and amphibians, more than 200 species of fish and invertebrates with a biomass 10 to 20 times greater than that of vertebrates.
The forest-wood sector contributes to mitigation of climate change by capturing and storing carbon in forests and wood products, as well as by replacing other materials and energy sources.
