The increased harvesting of forest biomass for biofuel production in Germany could lead to trade-offs in the provision of forest ecosystem services (FES). The potential conflicts between already existing forest users and proponents of biofuels from forest biomass are insufficiently investigated. In this paper, we propose an innovative step-wise methodology for analysing the conflicts that could arise due to a foreseen increase in scarcity of various forest goods and services, as well as formulating sustainable conflict management strategies. Based on a mixed study design for triangulation, we carried out twelve expert interviews, two workshops and three focus group discussions in order to assess potential conflicts and to deepen strategies to deal with them. We found that most of our participants were against the prospect of using forest biomass for biofuel production partially due to possible negative consequences for biodiversity, climate regulation, and other FES. Study participants also asserted that there is a lack of information regarding the claimed benefits from biofuels from forest biomass. Participative processes, market-based instruments, and policy harmonization are strategies proposed to alleviate conflicts among forest users. Our insights could help the forest policy decision-making process by increasing transparency regarding possible trade-offs and strategies, which could improve sustainability in forest management.

中文翻译：

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德国森林生态系统服务可持续供应的综合冲突分析方法 - 以森林生物燃料生产为例


德国为生产生物燃料而增加森林生物质的采伐可能会导致在提供森林生态系统服务 （FES） 方面进行权衡取舍。现有森林使用者与森林生物质生物燃料支持者之间的潜在冲突没有得到充分调查。在本文中，我们提出了一种创新的逐步方法，用于分析由于预计各种森林商品和服务的稀缺性增加而可能出现的冲突，以及制定可持续的冲突管理策略。基于三角测量的混合研究设计，我们进行了 12 次专家访谈、2 次研讨会和 3 次焦点小组讨论，以评估潜在冲突并深化处理这些冲突的策略。我们发现，大多数参与者反对使用森林生物质生产生物燃料的前景，部分原因是可能对生物多样性、气候调节和其他 FES 产生负面影响。研究参与者还断言，缺乏关于森林生物质生物燃料所声称的好处的信息。参与式进程、基于市场的工具和政策协调是为缓解森林使用者之间的冲突而提出的策略。我们的见解可以通过提高可能的权衡和策略的透明度来帮助森林政策决策过程，从而提高森林管理的可持续性。