In 2025 almost 3.7 million trees planted in Italy, driven by the Pnrr

Almost 3.7 million trees will be planted in 2025, 17% more than in 2024, on an area exceeding 5,300 hectares. A green heritage capable of generating an economic value in ecosystem services of approximately 28 million euros per year, for each of the years of life of the new tree and shrub plants.

This is what emerges from the sixth edition of the Atlas of Forests, edited by Legambiente and AzzeroCO2, with the technical support of the Compagnia delle Foreste, for Il Sole 24 Ore.

The panorama is very uneven. Trentino-Alto Adige confirms itself as first for the third consecutive year, with over 840 thousand trees planted thanks to provincial funds for the restoration of surfaces affected by storm Vaia and bark beetle infestations. The novelty is Sicily, which climbs onto the podium in second position for the first time with over 600 thousand trees, thanks to the residual funds of the Rural Development Program (PSR 2014-2022) and the interventions of the metropolitan cities of Catania and Palermo. Third and fourth place, a very short distance away, for Lombardy and Piedmont, with respectively over 479 thousand and 469 thousand plants.

There are nine Regions that in 2025 did not finance new plants through the ordinary instrument of regional forestry policies: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche and Molise.

The reason, in most cases, is the failure to activate the Regional Complement for Rural Development (CSR) of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027, still in the start-up phase after the closure of the previous programming. In 2025 only Lombardy, Tuscany and Umbria carried out interventions with the funds allocated by the measure, while Abruzzo and Basilicata foresee it between the end of 2026 and 2027. The case of Liguria is different, where the failure to activate funds for new plants is a choice linked to the high existing forest cover. However, for the fifth consecutive year, the data for Sardinia remains unavailable.

Growth is also supported by metropolitan cities: 1.48 million trees and shrubs planted with Pnrr funds.

Turin and Rome alone are worth 59% of the total metropolitan cities with over 455 thousand and 414 thousand trees planted. Followed by Reggio Calabria (261 thousand trees) and Catania (118 thousand trees), which completes projects that have been on hold for three years in a single season.