Management goals and ecosystem functions such as biodiversity conservation can be met in both set-aside forest reserves and off-reserve forests. The major argument for well developed and protected forest reserves is the increase of alpha-diversity with extended succession periods and turn-over cycles. However, the establishment of new protected areas is limited due to space and competing management goals. Trade-offs have to be made where such conflicts of interest occur. Accordingly, emphasis is shifted towards integrating rare forest biotopes and structural attributes into production forests. Forests in Central Europe are often managed on the basis of silvicultural principles with high forest management standards. Integrative forest management aims to maximize the cross-section between the different main functions of modern forestry: production, protection and conservation. The area of synergy, however, is limited and a certain amount of exclusive area is needed to guarantee different ecosystem functions. The present volume contains a compilation of the results of the research project Integrate. Based on the contributions from more than seventy renowned scientists in this field, Integrate has attempted to make available the most recent knowledge and the best international scientific expertise on the complex relationships, trade-offs and emerging challenges regarding the integration of forest biodiversity conservation into forest management.
