Highly fragmented European wetlands with uneven restoration needs

Nature 2026 Open access

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Authors: Gyula Mate Kovács, Xiaoye Tong, Dimitri Gominski, Stefan Oehmcke, Stéphanie Horion, Christin Abel, Eva Ivits, Guy Schurgers, Bo Elberling, Alexander Prishchepov, Sebastian van der Linden, Susan Page
+3 more Alexandra Barthelmes, Franziska Tanneberger, Rasmus Fensholt
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10760-9
Cited by: 1
References: 52

Abstract

European wetlands store large carbon reserves1, but centuries of land use have eroded carbon stocks and biodiversity2. The European Union (EU) Nature Restoration Law (NRL)3 requires at least 30% of wetland ecosystems not in ‘good condition’ to be restored by 2030, yet spatially consistent information on wetland types and condition remains scarce. Using 10-m satellite imagery and machine learning, we map six seminatural open wetland types and land-use disturbance across 38 European countries. Wetlands are highly fragmented, with an estimated 27–33% of wetland area occurring in map-defined patches

Fields of Study & Subjects

Land Use and Ecosystem Services Remote Sensing in Agriculture Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
655
Issue
8124
Pages
932–941
Publication date
15 July 2026
Language
EN