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Knowing how a forest could be managed for biodiversity, wood production and other functions does not mean those choices will happen in practice. Forest owners and managers make decisions within a wider system. Rules determine what they are permitted or required to do. Economic and other incentives affect which options are realistic or attractive. Research,...

A resilient forest is not simply one that survives disturbance or returns to a previous condition. Stability can come from the forest’s own ecological processes, allowing it to absorb disturbance and recover. But it can also be maintained through repeated management intervention designed to protect a particular forest condition or level of wood production. Both...

Wood production and biodiversity conservation can be organised in different ways across a forest landscape. Some areas may have one dominant objective, while others are managed for several objectives at the same time. Our latest Teaming Up 4 Forests study, Productive and Biodiverse: Managing Europe’s Forests for Economic and Ecological Outcomes, examines how these approaches...

Today, we are excited to share our latest Teaming Up 4 Forests study Productive and Biodiverse, a new synthesis study examining how Europe’s forests can continue to supply wood while maintaining or improving biodiversity. The study finds that productive and biodiverse forests are achievable in Europe. But achieving both depends less on finding a single...

Forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store carbon in living biomass and soils. But that is only part of their relationship with the climate.  When trees are harvested, carbon remains stored in wood products after it leaves the forest. How long it stays there depends on what the wood becomes and how long...

There is no single measure of forest biodiversity. Species counts can give us an indication, but biodiversity also includes genetic variation, the structure of forests and the ecological processes taking place within them. A measure that captures one part of that picture may tell us relatively little about another. That makes measuring change more demanding...

Forests provide many things at once. They supply wood, store carbon, regulate water, protect against natural hazards and soil erosion, support biodiversity and provide space for recreation. But not every one of these functions can be maximised in the same place at the same time. Sustainable forest management recognises the ecological, economic and social functions...