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Forest landscapes are too complex systems for the actors involved in policy making, including experts, to predict the consequences of different management options and policy measures without the aid of modelling tools. Forest sector models and forest management Decision Support Systems (DSS) are two major types of modelling tools that can be used for providing model-based support to forest policy development. Regardless of the modelling tool, policy makers and other concerned actors need to be aware of the behavioral assumptions, or implications, of a scenario in order to proceed to an assessment of what it takes to achieve, alternatively avoid it. A unified method or even a unified understanding of this problem is as yet lacking among forest scenario analysts. This paper presents an approach to facilitate the definition and communication of behavioral assumptions, primarily in DSS-based forest scenario modelling. At the core of the approach is the Behavioral Matrix (BM), a way of structuring forest management specifications. A case study in southern Sweden is presented as an example.

How perceptions of the forest-based bioeconomy differ across country contexts and social groups is important as it opens possibilities for the development of more inclusive, locally and socially relevant bioeconomy policies and strategies. Therefore, this special section explores the social dimensions of the forest-based bioeconomy by focusing on discourses and perceptions of different actor groups in Europe. We introduce six articles that range from review and discursive approaches to consumer studies. The section adds to the existing literature by focusing not only on political decision makers, stakeholders, and experts but also on the public, media and students. Patterns in the presented discourses and perceptions can be identified but more is needed to validate these and respond to the question of representativeness.

In 2005 and 2007 southern Sweden was hit by severe storms exposing the risks with current forestry focused on Norway spruce ( Picea abies ). The reforestation after the storms was largely conducted by private forest owners who were offered grants to support regeneration with broadleaves. The previous practices however remained largely intact, with spruce occupying 90% of the planted area. Based on qualitative interviews and applying the practice based approach this study investigates factors and motivations shaping forest owners choice of species. The analysis reveals that continued reforestation with Norway spruce was a result of path-dependencies of practices strongly supported by the species' superior profitability and a high browsing pressure on Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ). Risk awareness, consideration to forest aesthetics and curiosity were the main attitudinal drivers in favour of regeneration with other species than spruce. Our analysis reveals naturally regenerated birch ( Betula spp.) as a viable but previously overlooked pathway to increased species diversity.

Governance of forested landscapes must account for multiple interests and perspectives through public and stakeholder participation. In the context of Swedish forestry, participation has mainly been implemented as a top-down venture, without adequate integration of all interests. Linking local interests to national policy-making through participatory action research and future-oriented methodologies has not yet been tried in Sweden. We develop and implement a participatory action research model with the objectives to (i) facilitate a discussion among local stakeholders about their common future in relation to their forested landscapes and, (ii) to connect the local level with the national, institutional level. First, local stakeholders are brought together to create commonly desired visions in case studies of two forested landscapes in Sweden. Second, national policy-makers are engaged in a discussion on how to achieve the locally-desired visions. The ability of the two-step participatory action research model to achieve these objectives is then evaluated based on norms of Communicative Action and criteria of participatory planning. The results demonstrate the positive opportunity to engage local stakeholders in a constructive discussion about their common future, but also show some practical constraints of participatory methods, in particular the risk of institutional authorities disregarding local knowledge and claims.

The oak-dominated woodlands and forests of northern Europe have experienced dramatic declines due to agriculture, urbanization, and conifer-dominated production forestry. These losses have had a substantial negative impact on biodiversity due to the large number of forest species which depend on oak and the environments oak-dominated forests provide. Production oak stands may serve as a means of supplementing or complementing the habitat provided by the limited remaining natural oak remnants in this region. Here we evaluate the extent to which oak plantations in temperate southern Sweden provide habitat and resources for bird communities, by surveying and contrasting the bird species composition and diversity found in mature and young production oak stands (5 and 8 replicates respectively) and protected oak-dominated remnant forests (5 replicates). The mature production stands possessed a bird community partially overlapping in bird species composition, and comparable in species richness (34 species) to that found within protected oak forests (39 species). Furthermore, the production oak forests surveyed hosted threatened or near threatened bird species, including black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), goldcrest (Regulus regulus), starling (Sturnus vulgaris), and yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella). Though production oak forests cannot replace the habitat provided by protected oak forests, these stands do appear to provide conditions consistent with the habitat and resource requirements of a diverse cross-section of bird species in this region, including species of substantial conservation concern. Production oak forests thus have the capacity to make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation, as well as providing a diverse range of goods and services to society.

For forest sustainability and vulnerability assessment, the landscape scale is considered to be more and more relevant as the stand level approaches its known limitations. This review, which describes the main forest landscape simulation tools used in the 20 European case studies of the European project “Future-oriented integrated management of European forest landscapes” (INTEGRAL), gives an update on existing decision support tools to run landscape simulation from Mediterranean to boreal ecosystems. The main growth models and software available in Europe are described, and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are discussed. Trades-offs between input efforts and output are illustrated. Recommendations for the selection of a forest landscape simulator are given. The paper concludes by describing the need to have tools that are able to cope with climate change and the need to build more robust indicators for assessment of forest landscape sustainability and vulnerability. The INTEGRAL project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No. 282887. http://www. integral-project.eu/. Moreover, financial support by the Transnational Access to Research Infrastructures activity in the 7th Framework Programme of the EC under the Trees4Future project (No. 284181) for conducting the research is gratefully acknowledged. This research has also received funding from the European Union H2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 691149 (SuFoRun). Researcher Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo was supported by a “Ramon y Cajal” research contract from the MINECO (Ref. RYC-2013-14262) and has received funding from CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. This paper could be achieved thanks to support of EFIATLANTIC donors: Conseil regional d’Aquitaine, Ministère de l’agriculture et de la forêt.

Today, multiple-use (or multifunctional) forestry is one of the main concepts guiding European forestry. While there is wide acceptance of the overall concept, here is a lack of coherence in definitions, policies and practices. Such outcomes indicate that multiple-use forestry (MUF) may contain the essential properties of a “boundary object”, i.e. something that is robust enough to conceptually unite different interests, but at the same time is flexible enough to encompass different practices in line with local needs and conditions. This study sets out to explore the conceptualization and implementation of MUF as a boundary object, examining the overall trends at an international level, and scrutinising the national specifics in three case countries: Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden. The review of international literature finds no consensus on what MUF is, beyond combining two or more forest functions or uses. The case countries show widely different approaches to conceptualizing and implementing MUF, not least in terms of spatial scales for integrating or segregating various functions. The analysis indicates that we should not expect instrumentation of MUF toward uniform guidelines to shape forestry practices throughout Europe. Rather it will continue to serve the profession as a boundary object that serves as a mediating concept between various interests while being inclusive of a wide set of forestry practices.