Assessment of the impact of the Italian National Forest Strategy on carbon sequestration in the Lazio region up to 2030

The sustainable policies and practices such as agricultural, forestry and land management are crucial for ensuring the long-term provision of ecosystem services. According to the European Green Deal strategy, at least 3 billion more trees should be planted in the European Union by 2030. In support of this target, the Italian National Forest Strategy proposes actions aimed at reforestation, afforestation and agroforestry. Enhancing forest density and cover enhances the capacity to remove CO₂ and store it as organic carbon in the global terrestrial biosphere. Spatial decision support tools can support policy makers in addressing these challenges and relevant assessment of land-based mitigation options to reduce emissions in the land sector. Despite the specific goal set in the European Green Deal strategy, there is still no clear understanding of which territory in Italy will be involved in the planned actions. Therefore, there is a need to build suitability maps to determine the future change of the land cover in connection with the European strategies and planned actions up to 2030. This study suggests not only possible future land cover maps for the Lazio region, compiled in accordance with the land use policy, but also an assessment of the planned carbon sequestration based on the proposed maps.