Management for multifunctionality in European forests in the era of bioeconomy

Forest management is subject to various and often conflicting demands from the society (e.g. wood products, rural development, climate change mitigation, biodiversity), which has led to a range of policy responses and management practices. Forest issues are dealt with by disparate sector policies with often competing objectives and instruments. The implementation of these policies is not coordinated, nor impacts monitored across the policies. Disparate sectorial policies may result in sustainability losses because of the conflicting policy objectives and incongruence in their implementation.

In MultiForest project, we analyse and develop forest practices that can simultaneously maintain or increase timber production and the resilience of forest multi-functionality. We develop new methodologies for assessing multifunctionality in regional and national scales, quantify possible policy conflicts, and develop tools to support resolving socio-ecological land-use conflicts.