Compared to modern tree cover how much has been lost? I have heard that almost all of Europe's primeval forests have been largely destroyed, aside from a few small areas of them in Eastern Europe. When did this destruction take place? For more specific times, how forested was Europe and the Mediterranean around roughly 500 AD 1000 AD and 1500 AD? Thank you
I'm not sure that we have an expert on medieval forestry qualified to speak to all periods, if any exist. I will say that Europe was more forested earlier in the period and much less so later in the period, but trying to quantify it seems to me a fool's errand. We don't have the kind of sources to be able to say, for instance, "in 500 AD Gaul was 38.7% forest."
That said, it may be useful to understand that from about 900-1300, the European economy and population grew rapidly and markedly, which placed a great premium on arable land, to the point that bogs and marshes were drained and land reclaimed from the sea! Many forests fell to the axe; by 1100 AD or so, western Europe had been significantly deforested, and the remaining woodlands became precious resources, especially to a nobility with a passionate devotion to hunting. This led to the establishment of royal forests in England and later France, where the ordinary people were forbidden to cut wood and take game. I don't believe there would have been significantly more forest than there is today.