Words apart:Standardizing forestry terms and definitions across European biodiversity studies

Forest biodiversity studies conducted across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms,often inconsistently.This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent.Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts.This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions,creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity.We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies.While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included,information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking,shallow,or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications.We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process,and ultimately propose a common framework.This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe,and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies.The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions.

Adaptation of forest management to climate change as perceived by forest owners and managers in Belgium

Background： Climate change is likely to cause significant modifications in forests. Rising to this challenge may require adaptation of forest management, and therefore should trigger proactive measures by forest managers, but it is unclear to what extent this is already happening. Methods： The survey carried out in this research assesses how forest stakeholders in Belgium perceive the role of their forest management in the context of climate change and the impediments that limit their ability to prepare and respond to these changes. Results： Respondents indicated strong awareness of the changing climate, with more than two-thirds （71%） expressing concern about the impacts of climate change on their forests. However, less than one-third of the respondents （32 %） reported modifying their management practices motivated by climate change. Among the major constraints limiting their climate red,ted ~ctions, lack of ic^formation was considered the most important for managers of both public and private forests. Conclusions： Knowledge transfer is an essential condition for research to lead to innovation. Improving the communication and demonstration of possible solutions for climate change adaptation is therefore likely to be the most effective strategy for increasing their adoption.

Negotiated Complexity: Framing Multi-Criteria Decision Support in Environmental Health Practice

The complexity we take into account when dealing with complex issues and the way we deal with that complexity is not given or self-evident, it is framed and negotiated. Based on two environmental health decision support case studies we address a set of key methodological choices, crucial in shaping the multi-criteria decision support and illuminate how they followed from transdisciplinary collaboration and negotiation: diversity tolerance, dealing with uncertainty and difference of opinion, weight of information and the epistemological divide between traditional closed and alternative open paradigms. The case studies exemplify the growing conviction amongst methodologists that, especially regarding complex issues, best methods do not exist as such: methods are chosen and tailored in practice and the quality to a large extent is dependent on the process in which methodological development is embedded. We hope to contribute to making explicit the importance of methodological decision making regarding environmental health complexity.