Can “Closer-to-nature” forest management sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in an uncertain future? Lessons from Central Europe

Stritih, Ana (author), Bončina, Andrej (author), Nagel, Thomas Andrew (author), Stritih, Jernej (author)

Purpose of Review Forests produce timber, mitigate climate change and provide important habitats; yet their capacity to provide these services under rapid global change is uncertain. “Closer-to-nature” forest management (CNFM) has been proposed by the EU Forest Strategy as a way to reconcile competing demands on forests while enhancing their resilience, but experiences with its implementation remain limited. We synthesized expert knowledge about CNFM in Central Europe, a region with a history of diverse forest management practices that has recently experienced severe impacts of climate change. We used a two-stage Delphi approach (including a questionnaire and a workshop) with experts in forest ecology and management to find a consensus about the effects of specific CNFM tools, and to identify knowledge gaps, barriers, and good practice examples of CNFM. Recent Findings A wider implementation of CNFM is likely to benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services under climate change, with only one clear trade-off identified between setting areas aside and wood production. However, limited empirical evidence exists for many of the expected effects. Substantial obstacles hinder the implementation of CNFM, including administrative constraints, social barriers, and gaps in knowledge and education. Nonetheless, we identified numerous successful cases of CNFM implementation from local to national scales in Central Europe. Summary CNFM is viewed as a potent strategy to navigate future social and ecological uncertainties, including large-scale disturbances. However, the implementation of CNFM should be adapted to the local context and ensure landscape-scale heterogeneity. Existing good practices could serve as examples for mainstreaming CNFM in Central Europe and beyond.

• Language: English
• Keywords: forest policy, sustainable forest management, natural disturbance, climate change, forest adaptation, good practices
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 21 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, art. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177752
• UDC: 630*6
• ISSN on article: 2198-6436
• DOI: 10.1007/s40725-025-00264-6
• COBISS.SI-ID: 263453443

Note

V članku je navedenih še več virov financiranja.

• Publication date in RUL: 06.01.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Current forestry reports
• Shortened title: Current forestry rep.
• Publisher: Springer International Publishing
• ISSN: 2198-6436
• COBISS.SI-ID: 526520345

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: gozdne politike, trajnostno upravljanje z gozdovi, naravne motnje, podnebne spremembe, prilagajanje gozodv, dobre prakse