Private forest owners are the main forest ownership group within Europe, and important conservation values have been found on their land. Yet, small plot sizes, societal heterogeneity, and structural changes impede developing and implementing effective conservation programs in private forests. We present a systematic literature review focusing on small-scale private forest owners and their perspectives on nature conservation by synthesizing research approaches, social-ecological drivers, and policy recommendations. Conservation perspectives were positively related to female gender, higher levels of education, formalized forest management, an active relation to the forest, and ecological values of the property. In contrast, high age, rural orientation, economic forest management factors, large parcel size, and economic and sentimental property values negatively influenced conservation perspectives. Applying a natural resource conflict management framework, we synthesized recommendations covering three dimensions: substance, procedure, relationship. Considering perspectives of small-scale private forest owners in current forestry decision-making has great potential to strengthen sustainable forest management that integrates nature conservation and resource use.

The systematic designation of protected areas is a key strategy in modern biodiversity conservation. As for now, the Natura 2000 system of the European Union (EU) is the largest coordinated network of conservation areas worldwide. Since this scheme has a focus on forests, its effectiveness substantially depends on small-scale private forest owners who represent the largest forest ownership group in Europe. We conducted a quantitative survey (n = 1671) in Northwest Germany focusing on the perceived importance of ecosystem services, the performance of management practices, nature conservation attitudes, as well as stand characteristics of small-scale private forest owners with and without Natura 2000 sites. Forest owners perceived regulating and cultural services as more important than provisioning ecosystem services while having a multifunctional perspective on their forest. Owners with Natura 2000 sites had a stronger focus on resource use and, with the exception of habitat-tree protection, did not perform conservation measures more frequently than those without. Moreover, we found more negative nature conservation attitudes among this ownership group. In conclusion, the Natura 2000 scheme needs to be more strongly adapted to the demands of small-scale private forest owners, for example by increasing profound participation and establishing a results-based incentive scheme for conservation measures. The perspectives of small-scale private forest owners have to be considered comprehensively to ensure the effective and sustainable implementation of the Natura 2000 conservation network.

Purpose of Review Ownership patterns and the associated management characteristics are related to forest structures, biodiversity patterns, and their conservation worldwide. A literature review on this topic is missing so far. We fill this gap with an emphasis on the temperate forests of Europe and North America. Mixed-ownership landscapes are the special focus of the analysis. In a first step, historical effects of ownership patterns on forest structure and biodiversity are elucidated. Second, connections between present-time forest ownership patterns and both forest structural and biodiversity patterns are analyzed. Finally, implications for integrative conservation management are evaluated with a special focus on mixed-ownership forest landscapes. Recent Findings Close linkages between ownership type-specific forest management and particular forest structural and biodiversity patterns are identified for past and current forest landscapes. Both in Europe and North America, publicly and privately owned forests show comparable lines of historical development but with a time shift. Forest reserves and ancient woodland with long ecological continuity appear to be mainly connected with public ownership. A high diversity of management approaches and cultural landscape habitats is characteristic of non-industrial small private forests. In mixed-ownership landscapes, a more diverse mosaic of habitats has developed than in mono-ownership landscapes. Summary We conclude that cross-boundary ecosystem management is crucial for effective conservation in present-day mixed-ownership landscapes. Integrative forest management that considers biodiversity and social-ecological aspects across ownerships is indispensable. We present a framework of implications for conservation management in mixed-ownership forest landscapes that build on each other and may enhance cross-boundary ecosystem management.

Forests are key components of European multifunctional landscapes and supply numerous forest ecosystem services (FES) fundamental to human well-being. The sustainable provision of FES has the potential to provide responses to major societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, or rural development. To identify suitable strategies for the future sustenance of FES, we performed a solution scanning exercise with a group of transdisciplinary forest and FES experts from different European regions. We identified and prioritized fifteen major challenges hindering the balanced provision of multiple FES and identified a series of potential solutions to tackle each of them. The most prominent challenges referred to the increased frequency and impacts of extreme weather events and the normative mindset regarding forest management. The respective solutions pointed to the promotion of forest resilience via climate-smart forestry and mainstreaming FES-oriented management through a threefold strategy focusing on education, awareness raising, and networking. In a subsequent survey, most solutions were assessed as highly effective, transferable, monitorable, and with potential for being economically efficient. The implementation of the solutions could have synergistic effects when applying the notion of leverage points. Seven emerging pathways towards the sustainable supply of FES have been identified. These pathways build on each other and are organized based on their potential for transformation: (1) shifting forest management paradigms towards pluralistic ecosystem valuation; (2) using integrated landscape approaches; (3) increasing forest resilience; (4) coordinating actions between forest-related actors; (5) increasing participation in forest planning and management; (6) continuous, open, and transparent knowledge integration; and (7) using incentive-based instruments to support regulating and cultural FES. These pathways can contribute to the implementation of the new EU Forestry Strategy to support the balanced supply of multiple FES. Graphical abstract

Small-scale private forests cover large areas in Europe and often contain structures and habitats of high nature conservation value that are increasingly put under pressure due to a rising interest in fuelwood and wood products. We investigate the distribution of variables like living wood and deadwood volumes, management intensity, diversity and density of tree-related microhabitats recorded in 81 small-scale private forest parcels in the Lower Saxon Hills (northwest Germany). We provide an assessment of the influence of predictors like the individual forest owners’ goals and activities, as stated by them in a quantitative survey, as well as topographical parameters like parcel size, slope, landscape fragmentation and forest continuity. Our results indicate that there are two types of valuable structures in small-scale private forests: (a) slowly evolving structures like large-diameter living wood and tree-related microhabitats which mostly depend on topographical parameters that act on longer time scales, and (b) fast evolving structures like deadwood that are influenced by both owner attitudes and topographical parameters. The resulting implications for integrative forest and conservation management are discussed.