Nicola Arndt und Matthias Pohl - Neobiota

Resolution of the Participants of the Workshop, May 2001: principal results and conclusions
1) The map of natural vegetation of Europe (9 sheets at a scale of 1:2.5 million and the general map
at 1:10 million) is the result of more than 20 years of co-operation between leading scientists and
institutions in the fields of vegetation geography, ecology and cartography from 31 European
countries. The map covers the whole of Europe as far east as the Ural Mountains and including
the Caucasian states. As such it provides for the first time important basic ecological data for the
eastward extension of the EU and for co-operation with the Russian Federation, which has been
agreed at an international scientific level. The international co-operation resulted not only in
discussion on, and the reconciliation of, different scientific points of view and methods but, by
the constant contact between East and West during the “Cold War”, also contributed towards the
reduction of political tension and the process of unification in Europe.
2) The participants of the Workshop and the international team recognise that the existence of the
map in a digital and printed version, which is therefore available for a variety of applications, is a
major step forward. This progress is thanks to the coordination and financial support of the
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), as well as to financial sponsorship from the
European Commission in Brussels, the European Topic Centre on Nature Protection &
Biodiversity (formerly ETC/NC now ETC/NPB) in Paris and the European Environment Agency
(EEA) in Copenhagen.
3) The workshop demonstrated a wide spectrum of examples and possibilities for its application. In
particular the following possible uses should be emphasised:
• Ecological classification (on a European to regional scale)
• Representation of natural biodiversity and the natural potential for land use and development
of its habitats
• Assessment of anthropogenic modification and present state of the natural vegetation as well
as its representation in nature reserves
• Specific planning of protected areas from a regional to a European scale
• Restoration of natural ecosystems and cultural landscapes
• Application for sustainable silviculture and ecosystem-based forest management
• An aid to understand and to control the carbon and water cycles
• Assessment and description of the consequences of climate change
4) The completion of the map does not mean the end of the international, pan-European cooperation.
Rather, it opens up a new phase of co-operation for the widespread application and
analysis of the vegetation map, especially for nature conservation, maintenance of biological
diversity, sustainable use of natural resources and environmentally-based planning on a European
scale.
5) The following are seen as the most important tasks for the immediate future:
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• Conclusion and publication of the explanatory textbook containing the legend and the
content of the map and details of the mapping units (accomplished in 2003);
• Disseminating information about the mapping project, its content and its scientific as well as
practical significance, to experts and the general public;