Science for Trade-Offs Between Conflicting Interests in Future Forests

• Main Authors: Sune Linder, Jon Moen, Annika Nordin, Stig Larsson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2011-08-01
• Series: Forests
• Subjects: boreal forests; conflicting goals; interdisciplinary research; participatory approaches; research program
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/2/3/631/

Forests deliver multiple ecosystem services to society. Management of forests must be able to deal with trade-offs when the delivery of different ecosystem services comes in conflict with each other. The research program Future Forests (http://www.futureforests.se) attempts to form a scientific basis for managing such trade-offs between conflicting interests in northern boreal forests. Some key characteristics of the research program are interdisciplinary and participatory research and a clear communication agenda for stakeholders. This paper gives a brief overview of the underlying ideas behind the program, and an introduction to the papers published in this Special Issue.