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Seeing yew for the forest : a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.)

Mélanie Saulnier, Necmi Aksoy, Claire Arnold, Dalibor Ballian, Tatiana Bebchuk, Sylvain Burri, Giacomo Calvia, Thomas Camagni, Yves Caraglio, Anna Cedro, et al.
(2026) TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE. 23.
Author
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Abstract
The European yew (Taxus baccata L.) is a long-lived conifer of ecological, cultural, and historical importance across Eurasia. Despite its remarkable resilience, wide distribution, and symbolic importance, the species has experienced a long-term decline due to a complex interplay of climatic fluctuations, megafaunal extinctions, human exploitation, and insufficient regeneration. Recent studies in palaeoecology, archaeology, dendroecology, and conservation have revealed a species with greater ecological plasticity and a broader historical distribution than previously assumed. However, many fundamental questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding its biogeographical history, population dynamics, recruitment processes, and the drivers of its decline. This review stems from prior investigations of yew in the French Pyrenees and, more broadly, across Europe. These efforts led to a transdisciplinary seminar and opened a collaboration uniting more than 30 researchers across Eurasia. By synthesizing a wide array of data and perspectives, the article highlights key knowledge gaps and outlines emerging research priorities. These are organized thematically—past, present, and future—and include 25 questions on the species' ecological niche, life-history strategies, human interactions, genetic resilience, and conservation under global change. The article advocates for a shift towards integrative and long-term conservation strategies that embrace the historical legacies of yew populations, the general ecology of the species along with local ecological context dependence, and the urgency of future threats. By identifying pressing research needs, this review seeks to lay the foundation for new collaborative initiatives and to support evidence-based conservation of this emblematic yet understudied species.
Keywords
Taxus baccata L., Conservation, Long-term history, Current dynamics, Ecological resilience, Restoration ecology, Priority research questions, HOLOCENE HISTORY, TEMPERATE TREE, POPULATION, VEGETATION, DYNAMICS, PLEISTOCENE, RECRUITMENT, ECOLOGY, GROWTH, COMMUNITIES

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MLA
Saulnier, Mélanie, et al. “Seeing Yew for the Forest : A Call to Action for Improving Conservation and Restoration of the European Yew (Taxus Baccata L.).” TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE, vol. 23, 2026, doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101093.
APA
Saulnier, M., Aksoy, N., Arnold, C., Ballian, D., Bebchuk, T., Burri, S., … Svenning, J.-C. (2026). Seeing yew for the forest : a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.). TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE, 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101093
Chicago author-date
Saulnier, Mélanie, Necmi Aksoy, Claire Arnold, Dalibor Ballian, Tatiana Bebchuk, Sylvain Burri, Giacomo Calvia, et al. 2026. “Seeing Yew for the Forest : A Call to Action for Improving Conservation and Restoration of the European Yew (Taxus Baccata L.).” TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101093.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Saulnier, Mélanie, Necmi Aksoy, Claire Arnold, Dalibor Ballian, Tatiana Bebchuk, Sylvain Burri, Giacomo Calvia, Thomas Camagni, Yves Caraglio, Anna Cedro, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, Koen Deforce, Omid Esmailzadeh, Petros Ganatsas, Hamid Gholizadeh, Zoran Govedar, Knut Kaiser, Laurent Lathuillière, Vasil Metreveli, Lois Morel, Alireza Naqinezhad, Vanessa Py-Saragaglia, Thomas Scheeder, Annik Schnitzler, and Jens-Christian Svenning. 2026. “Seeing Yew for the Forest : A Call to Action for Improving Conservation and Restoration of the European Yew (Taxus Baccata L.).” TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE 23. doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101093.
Vancouver
1.
Saulnier M, Aksoy N, Arnold C, Ballian D, Bebchuk T, Burri S, et al. Seeing yew for the forest : a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.). TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE. 2026;23.
IEEE
[1]
M. Saulnier et al., “Seeing yew for the forest : a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.),” TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE, vol. 23, 2026.
@article{01KAJTCPVDBQ3KDBMXCB56ZFXF,
  abstract     = {{The European yew (Taxus baccata L.) is a long-lived conifer of ecological, cultural, and historical importance across Eurasia. Despite its remarkable resilience, wide distribution, and symbolic importance, the species has experienced a long-term decline due to a complex interplay of climatic fluctuations, megafaunal extinctions, human exploitation, and insufficient regeneration. Recent studies in palaeoecology, archaeology, dendroecology, and conservation have revealed a species with greater ecological plasticity and a broader historical distribution than previously assumed. However, many fundamental questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding its biogeographical history, population dynamics, recruitment processes, and the drivers of its decline.
This review stems from prior investigations of yew in the French Pyrenees and, more broadly, across Europe. These efforts led to a transdisciplinary seminar and opened a collaboration uniting more than 30 researchers across Eurasia. By synthesizing a wide array of data and perspectives, the article highlights key knowledge gaps and outlines emerging research priorities. These are organized thematically—past, present, and future—and include 25 questions on the species' ecological niche, life-history strategies, human interactions, genetic resilience, and conservation under global change. The article advocates for a shift towards integrative and long-term conservation strategies that embrace the historical legacies of yew populations, the general ecology of the species along with local ecological context dependence, and the urgency of future threats. By identifying pressing research needs, this review seeks to lay the foundation for new collaborative initiatives and to support evidence-based conservation of this emblematic yet understudied species.}},
  articleno    = {{101093}},
  author       = {{Saulnier, Mélanie and Aksoy, Necmi and Arnold, Claire and Ballian, Dalibor and Bebchuk, Tatiana and Burri, Sylvain and Calvia, Giacomo and Camagni, Thomas and Caraglio, Yves and Cedro, Anna and de Beaulieu, Jacques-Louis and Deforce, Koen and Esmailzadeh, Omid and Ganatsas, Petros and Gholizadeh, Hamid and Govedar, Zoran and Kaiser, Knut and Lathuillière, Laurent and Metreveli, Vasil and Morel, Lois and Naqinezhad, Alireza and Py-Saragaglia, Vanessa and Scheeder, Thomas and Schnitzler, Annik and Svenning, Jens-Christian}},
  issn         = {{2666-7193}},
  journal      = {{TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE}},
  keywords     = {{Taxus baccata L.,Conservation,Long-term history,Current dynamics,Ecological resilience,Restoration ecology,Priority research questions,HOLOCENE HISTORY,TEMPERATE TREE,POPULATION,VEGETATION,DYNAMICS,PLEISTOCENE,RECRUITMENT,ECOLOGY,GROWTH,COMMUNITIES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{15}},
  title        = {{Seeing yew for the forest : a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.)}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101093}},
  volume       = {{23}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}
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