A regulatory term referring to forest predominantly composed of trees established through natural regeneration.
Naturally regenerating forest is forest predominantly composed of trees established through natural regeneration, including mixed or uncertain cases where natural regeneration is expected to dominate at maturity.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products
forest predominantly composed of trees established through natural regeneration; it includes any of the following: (a) forests for which it is not possible to distinguish whether planted or naturally regenerated; (b) forests with a mix of naturally regenerated native tree species and planted or seeded trees, and where the naturally regenerated trees are expected to constitute the major part of the growing stock at stand maturity; (c) coppice from trees originally established through natural regeneration; (d) naturally regenerated trees of introduced species;
Reference: Article 2, point 9
This term matters because converting naturally regenerating forest into plantation forest or other wooded land can constitute forest degradation under the EUDR.
For Minespider, naturally regenerating forest is a forest-quality category that affects degradation-risk evidence.