Critical methodological flaws in Feurer et al. (2025) render its findings untrustworthy

Sini Savilaakso, Neal R. Haddaway, Matthew Grainger, Linda Errington

A recent article by Feurer et al. (2025) aimed to synthesise literature on the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation globally. The stated aim of the review, to assess what are the proximate causes and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, is timely and relevant for ongoing policy efforts, for example zero-deforestation commitments and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). However, the review has severe methodological and conceptual flaws that render the findings untrustworthy and unusable. In this article, we summarise the main methodolofical concerns, outline their implications to the findings and suggest how editors and peer-reviewers can evaluate review quality to avoid publishing reviews with biased findings.