DSS4ES (DSS4ES) 29/09/2023 – 28/09/2027

Forests are an essential component of the surrounding landscape, and every management decision in the forest also affects the landscape, and conversely, management decisions in the surrounding landscape affect the forests. Therefore, an integrated decision-making framework is needed that adequately addresses all objectives of sustainable forest management in the landscape and links all interrelationships between forests and the surrounding landscape. Such an integrated decision-making framework requires the consideration of information and approaches from various rural and land-use activities and sectors. In this context, the comparison and integration of knowledge from decision-support systems (DSS)—developed for agriculture, livestock farming, forestry, ecosystem management, etc.—provides an excellent starting point for the development of an integrated system for the sustainable assessment of the provision of ecosystem services (ES) at the landscape level, including the provision of resources for the bio-based economy, the protection and regulation of agricultural or forestry systems, or cultural ES.

The main objective of this project is to establish a research network to facilitate the conceptualization and development of new methodological approaches in DSS, including the important relationships between forest and landscape. The focus is on reviewing, evaluating, and proposing new tools to support holistic planning approaches to improve sustainable forest management, taking into account different ES and the associated risks and uncertainties.