The provision of forest ecosystem services

European forests provide various goods and services for the people. While wood is the most prominent, also game, cork, mushrooms and greenery are important in many regions. Despite their importance, many goods and services are not marketed. Forests play an essential role in water resource management from local to regional levels. Forests are crucial for the preservation of biodiversity; many threatened terrestrial species depend upon forest habitats for survival. Forests’ ability to sequester and store carbon is crucial to the mitigation of climate change. In addition, forests form an important part of landscape amenities, cultural heritage, and are of great recreational value.

The term ‘ecosystem services’’ has been used since the 1990s as an umbrella term for various goods, services and functions. These  two  volumes on the provision of forest ecosystem services present the complexity of  situation in Europe. The reports also present case studies from the EU FP7 project NEWFOREX, which ended in May 2014.

Citations

Bo Jellesmark Thorsen, Robert Mavsar, Liisa Tyrväinen, Irina Prokofieva and Anne Stenger (eds). 2014. The provision of forest ecosystem services: Quantifying and valuing non-marketed ecosystem services. What Science Can Tell Us 5, vol 1. European Forest Institute.

Number of pages: 76
ISBN: 978-952-5980-13-4 (pdf)

Bo Jellesmark Thorsen, Robert Mavsar, Liisa Tyrväinen, Irina Prokofieva and Anne Stenger (eds). 2014. The provision of forest ecosystem services: Assessing cost of provision and designing economic instruments for ecosystem services. What Science Can Tell Us 5, vol2. European Forest Institute.

Number of pages: 90
ISBN 978-952-5980-15-8 (pdf)