Representation of PESTEL drivers in EU forest change research: a systematic review

Forests in the European Union (EU) have undergone substantial change over time, determined by political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) drivers. However, less scientific attention has been given to how scientific research itself represents these drivers, leaving important gaps in knowledge with implications for forest management and governance. This study systematically examines driver representation in peer-reviewed literature. We reviewed 3,109 peer-reviewed Web of Science (WoS) publications on forest change in the EU (2000–2025) and classified their content according to the PESTEL framework. Results show a pronounced thematic imbalance, where environmental and technological drivers dominate the literature, while political and legal drivers are comparatively rare and seldom treated as primary analytical dimensions. Social and economic drivers appear more frequently but often as secondary considerations. Geographic coverage is also uneven, with research concentrated in Western and Northern Europe and comparatively limited attention to Eastern and Southeastern regions. These thematic and spatial patterns constrain the capacity of current research to support integrated forest governance and policy evaluation. By explicitly mapping the scientific representation of forest change drivers, this study identifies structural blind spots in the EU research landscape, highlighting the need for stronger integration of governance and legal analysis to support effective implementation and evaluation of EU forest strategies and regulatory instruments.