Vol. 81 No. 1s (2026): Conference Proceedings: "Nature Restoration Law and Forests in Italy: An Opportunity for a Sustainable Future". November 25th, 2025
Commentaries

Implementation of the Nature Restoration Law and Agricultural and Forest Systems in Italy: The National Restoration Plan and Ecological Indicators

PDF (Italiano)
  • Lorenzo Ciccarese
Lorenzo Ciccarese
Fondazione per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, via Garigliano 61/a - 00198 Roma
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1267

Published 2026-06-08

Keywords

  • Nature Restoration Law,
  • National Restoration Plan,
  • agricultural and forest ecosystems,
  • ecological indicators,
  • environmental governance

How to Cite

Ciccarese, L. (2026). Implementation of the Nature Restoration Law and Agricultural and Forest Systems in Italy: The National Restoration Plan and Ecological Indicators. L’Italia Forestale E Montana, 81(1s), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1267

Copyright (c) 2026 Lorenzo Ciccarese

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 on nature restoration (Nature Restoration Law, NRL) represents one of the major environmental and territorial challenges facing European Union Member States. This paper examines the role of agricultural and forest ecosystems in the implementation of the NRL through the National Restoration Plan (NRP). Agricultural and forest systems are of strategic importance because they cover the largest share of both European and national territories, include a substantial proportion of habitats within the Natura 2000 network, and provide essential ecosystem services, including food, fibre and timber production, climate regulation, soil protection, water resource conservation, and biodiversity support. The paper highlights that achieving the objectives of the NRL requires both spatially explicit restoration measures for habitats listed in Annexes I and II that are not in good condition, as required under Article 4, and the implementation of measures and policies capable of improving over time the dynamic indicators introduced by Articles 11 and 12. For agricultural ecosystems, these indicators include the farmland bird index, the grassland butterfly index, soil organic carbon and high-diversity landscape features. For forest ecosystems, they include the common forest bird index, deadwood, forest connectivity, uneven-aged forest structure, organic carbon stocks and tree species diversity. The paper discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with this approach, emphasizing the importance of monitoring, governance, and the integration of agricultural, forest and climate and biodiversity policies.

PDF (Italiano)

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