A new concept in sustainable forest management - The need for forest ecosystem and landscape research

Abstract

The greatest advance in ecosystem research was made in the last century. The development and acceptance of forest ecology by foresters occurred because it provided a means for recognizing, understanding, classifying and mapping the natural variation of forests. Forest ecology involved studies at the individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels but such studies always needed to involve the ecosystem concept. Today, the new concept of "ecosystem and landscape forestry" integrating ecological and socio-economic research has been developed on the basis of EU COST Action E-25 European Network for a Long-term Forest Ecosystem and Landscape Research Programme. An analysis has been carried out of the present situation in forest research in the Czech Republic. The need for forest ecosystem and landscape research is obvious.