Nearly 3.7 million trees planted in a year, an area surpassing 5,300 hectares, and environmental benefits estimated at 28 million euros per year: this is the framework outlined by the sixth edition of the Atlas of Forests, the annual report curated by Legambiente and AzzeroCO2, with technical support from the Forestss Company for Il Sole 24 Ore.
Since 2020, the study monitors the reforestation interventions carried out across the Italian Peninsula and provides an up-to-date snapshot of initiatives that contribute to transforming urban and peri-urban landscapes.
Almost 3.7 million trees planted in 2025
The data for 2025 yield an encouraging balance: almost 3.7 million trees and shrubs were planted, with a 17% increase compared with the previous year. The interventions covered an area of more than 5,300 hectares and, according to the Atlas’ estimates, the green stock will generate ecosystem services with an economic value of about 28 million euros per year, over the lifetime of the new plantings.
The report is based on the analysis of 260 new projects distributed across the entire Peninsula, in urban and peri-urban contexts, a set of initiatives that demonstrates how forestry can contribute to environmental quality and to the ability of territories to address the effects of climate change.
However, growth does not proceed at the same pace everywhere: a significant portion of the results was supported by investments from the Metropolitan Cities, which have more than quadrupled their contribution thanks to funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. An important push, but tied to extraordinary resources destined to run out, while it remains to be seen which instruments can guarantee continuity of the interventions.
The regional rankings crown Trentino-Alto Adige and Sicily
At the top of the regional standings is Trentino-Alto Adige, remaining in the lead for the third consecutive year with over 840 thousand trees planted. This result is mainly linked to provincial funding aimed at restoring areas damaged by the Vaia storm and by bark beetle infestations.
The real novelty of the 2025 edition, however, is Sicily, which for the first time grabs the second place with more than 600 thousand trees: the result was propelled by leftover funds from the Rural Development Programme 2014-2022 and by interventions of the Metropolitan Cities of Catania and Palermo.
Right behind are Lombardy and Piedmont, respectively in third and fourth place, with over 479 thousand and 469 thousand trees planted: the ranking accounts for interventions promoted by the Regions, by the Metropolitan Cities, and by those implemented thanks to private investments.
The picture changes when looking at territories that did not finance new plantings through the ordinary instruments of regional forest policies. In 2025 there are nine Regions without new interventions, namely Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche and Molise.
In most cases, the situation is tied to the non-activation of the Regional Complement for Rural Development provided by the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027, still in the startup phase after the end of the previous programming period. In 2025 only Lombardy, Tuscany and Umbria carried out interventions with funds from this measure, while Abruzzo and Basilicata plan to activate it between late 2026 and 2027.
Liguria represents a particular case: the absence of funding for new plantings is linked to the choice to account for the high forest cover already present. For Sardinia, instead, the data remains unavailable for the fifth consecutive year.
Turin and Rome lead the Metropolitan Cities drive
A decisive role in national growth was played by the Metropolitan Cities, which in 2025 planted 1.48 million trees and shrubs thanks to NRRP funds: this is the largest volume ever recorded by the Atlas and a quantity more than four times higher than that noted in the previous edition.
At the top of the table are Turin and Rome, which alone account for 59% of the total of the Metropolitan Cities: the former surpasses 455 thousand trees, while the Capital exceeds 414 thousand. They are followed by Reggio Calabria, with about 261 thousand trees, and Catania, reaching 118 thousand, completing in a single season projects that had been stalled for three years.
Not all administrations, however, managed to translate the funds into new plantings within the time frame considered by the survey: six Metropolitan Cities show zero trees planted. For Florence, the reason is technical: the planting was completed beyond the Atlas’ reporting window. Venice had completed the first NRRP grant call without participating in the second, while Bologna did not activate interventions under the Plan.
The situation differs for Bari, Genoa and Messina, which did not report the start of planting for projects funded by the second call.
