Ukrainian Forests

Ancient woodlands from the Polissia wetlands to the Carpathian peaks

Ukraine's Forest Cover

Forests cover roughly 16% of Ukraine's territory — about 10.4 million hectares. They spread across three distinct zones: the mixed Polissia forests of the north, the broadleaf forests of the forest-steppe belt, and the Carpathian mountain forests of the west.

Forest Regions

Polissia — the Green Lungs of Ukraine

Stretching across northern Ukraine and into Belarus, Polissia is one of Europe's largest remaining wilderness areas. The landscape is a mosaic of pine and birch forests, peat bogs, and river floodplains. The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, counterintuitively, has become one of its richest wildlife refuges, with thriving populations of elk, wolves, and wild boar.

Carpathian Mountain Forests

The Ukrainian Carpathians hold some of the last primeval beech forests in Europe. Stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and silver fir (Abies alba) grow here largely undisturbed, part of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve — a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared with Slovakia and Germany. Large predators such as brown bear, Eurasian lynx, and grey wolf still roam freely through these mountains.

Forest-Steppe Broadleaf Forests

In the transitional belt between the forests and the open steppe, oak (Quercus robur) dominates, mixed with ash, hornbeam, and maple. These forests are highly important for biodiversity and have historically been the most modified by human settlement.

Wildlife of the Forests

Brown Bear

Around 200 brown bears live in the Ukrainian Carpathians, mostly within the Carpathian National Nature Park and the Biosphere Reserve.

Eurasian Lynx

The secretive lynx has made a recovery in the Carpathians and parts of Polissia, aided by conservation efforts and natural forest regeneration.

European Bison

Reintroduced into Ukrainian forests, the bison — the heaviest land animal native to Europe — now has small populations in several reserves.

Forest Facts