The Forest Map of Italy (CFI2020): an updated portrait of Italian forests

For many years, Italy lacked a coordinated data collection and monitoring system to support forest protection, management, and planning policies. In particular, there was no nationwide mapping of forested areas with a level of detail adequate for planning and management needs. Several regions and autonomous provinces have developed local forestry maps and cartographies based on their regulations and requirements to fill this gap. However, only recently, thanks to a Collaboration Agreement between the Directorate of Forests and Mountain Economy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests and the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, the first National Information System for Forests and the Forestry Sector (SINFor) was established. As part of this project, the first Forest Map of Italy was produced at a 1:10.000 scale, under the Article 15 of Legislative Decree No. 34 of April 3, 2018. This vector map, now available through SINFor, was created by updating and merging regional and local thematic cartographies, based on orthophotos provided by the Agency for Agricultural Payments for the 2018-2020. This resource allows private individuals, administrations, and public authorities to access detailed georeferenced information on Italian forests, promoting a more efficient and informed management of the national forest heritage.