Section 11 of the Guidance Document is devoted to clarifying when an area is a "forest" and when it is under "agricultural use". It is required reading for anyone doing geospatial analysis of suppliers, because it settles the borderline cases that maps cannot resolve on their own.
5.1 The four tests in the definition of forest
An area is forest if it meets all of the following parameters at the same time — or can reach them in situ (Guidance, section 11.3):
- Area above 0.5 hectare — measured by the perimeter of the tree cover.
- Trees higher than 5 metres — the average height of the treetops.
- Canopy cover above 10% — the ratio between the crown of the stand and the area it occupies.
- No predominant agricultural or urban use — a forest is the presence of trees and the absence of another predominant use.
The clause "trees able to reach those thresholds in situ" brings in young stands and areas temporarily without trees because of clear-cutting under forest management or because of natural disasters, provided regeneration is expected (FAQ 4.10).
Also forest, where the criteria are met: forest roads, firebreaks and small clearings associated with forestry; abandoned land, generally for more than 10 years, with tree regeneration; mangroves; forest nurseries inside the forest; and areas outside legally designated forest land that meet the criteria.
5.2 What counts as agricultural use
Agricultural use is defined by the purpose of the land use. The Guidance list (section 11.4.a) covers:
- temporary crops (a cycle of less than one year, including temporary multi-year crops);
- temporary meadows and pastures (less than five consecutive years);
- land set aside from production or under temporary fallow — as a rule it remains under agricultural use for around 10 years; that period may be longer where it is shown that the activity could not be resumed for legitimate reasons (conflict, flooding, lack of water, economic, social or legal reasons) covering the whole period;
- permanent crops (five years or more without replanting);
- permanent meadows and pastures (five years or more);
- farm buildings and yards (sheds, silos, cattle pens, poultry houses);
- land that was agricultural before 31/12/2020 where the producer decided to plant short-rotation forest or temporary afforestation, provided it is not subject to a management plan or to a law requiring forest protection;
- landscape features encouraged for environmental or biodiversity reasons.
5.3 Conversions that are not deforestation
The conversion of forest to non-agricultural uses is not deforestation for the EUDR (Guidance, section 11.2; FAQ 4.11). Examples: urban infrastructure (power lines, roads, towns), non-agricultural industrial facilities, renewable energy (wind and solar farms). Wood legally harvested to build a road is compliant (FAQ 4.11).
Nor is it conversion to agricultural use where it is done, to the minimum extent necessary and supported by official plans or mandates, in order to: control invasive alien species; prevent forest fires; comply with animal welfare rules (shelter structures); restore high-value ecosystems as required by conservation plans; or install renewable energy. Ancillary agricultural activities are accepted where they are essential to the main purpose.
5.4 Predominant use: when trees and farming coexist
Agricultural use is considered predominant — and the area is therefore not forest — in cases such as: seasonal grazing or temporary silvopasture in wooded areas that are not primary forest; silvopastoral or agrosilvicultural practices limited to part of the year for climatic reasons; and groups of shelter trees in a predominantly agricultural area, even where they meet the thresholds.
Conversely, agricultural use is not predominant in small-scale production of secondary products inside the forest (native shade-grown coffee, for example) or in occasional extensive grazing, provided they do not harm the forest habitat (Guidance, section 11.4.b).
5.5 Agricultural plantations and agroforestry systems
Plantations of the relevant commodities (other than wood) are agricultural plantations and are therefore not forest — even with tall trees, as with rubber or oil palm. Replacing forest with a rubber plantation is deforestation (FAQ 4.14).
Agroforestry systems (agrosilvicultural, silvopastoral and agrosilvopastoral), as defined by the FAO, are agricultural use and not forest where that use is predominant (Guidance, section 11.4.d).
5.6 One property, several uses
Where a plot contains both an area that is forest and an area under agricultural use, the two are assessed separately. The proportion does not matter: on a 10 ha property with 2 ha meeting the forest criteria and 8 ha under crops, those 2 ha are forest, even though they are only 20% of the property (Guidance, section 11.5).
5.7 Forest degradation and wood
For wood, in addition to the absence of deforestation, harvesting must not induce forest degradation after 31/12/2020 (FAQ 4.3). The verb "induce" creates a causal link: degradation caused by climate change, pests or fires unrelated to harvesting does not make the wood non-compliant (FAQ 4.5 and 4.7). The operator must check the type of forest as at 31/12/2020 (primary or naturally regenerating) and assess whether harvesting and post-harvest management could turn it into a plantation forest, a planted forest or other wooded land (FAQ 4.6). Stands planted for protection or restoration, or which at maturity resemble natural forests, are treated as natural regeneration (FAQ 4.9).
5.8 Reference maps: useful, not decisive
The Commission provides free of charge the EU Observatory on Deforestation and Forest Degradation, with the Global Forest Cover 2020 map (GFC 2020) at 10 m resolution, and the Global Forest Types 2020 map (TFM 2020), which distinguishes primary, naturally regenerating and planted forest (FAQ 9.10 to 9.10.5). Version 3 of GFC 2020 (December 2025) has a global accuracy above 92% (FAQ 9.10.2).
Three features define these maps (FAQ 9.10):
- they are not mandatory — operators and authorities are not required to use them;
- they are not exclusive — they can be combined with more detailed national maps, which the Commission recommends;
- they are not legally binding — a plot falling inside "forest" on the map is not automatically non-compliant, and one falling outside it is not automatically compliant.
Tools mentioned in FAQ 9.10.6 for cross-checking polygons against maps: the IMPACT Toolbox (Joint Research Centre — JRC), WHISP — What is in that plot? (FAO/Open Foris) and Global Forest Watch Pro (WRI).