'Back to nature' - a sustainable future for forestry?

In this paper, we examine a trend in forestry which may be dubbed 'back to nature' and ask if it offers a sustainable future for forestry. We analyze what is actually meant by 'back to nature', which type of nature we want to 'get back' to, and how ensuing silvicultural philosophies can be defined. 'Back to nature' can be understood in a temporal sense referring to a certain composition or structure of a forest at a given time. But it can also refer to the processes taking place in an actual forest. Thirdly-in a broader sense-'back to nature' may represent the wish to revert to a more 'simple' way of silviculture and forestry in general, doing away with habitual thinking and the creation of dogmatic approaches. Currently, there is no consensus on an interpretation of 'back to nature'. Moreover, quantitative data from long-term empirical field trials are still limited. Sound science is needed to underpin the claims of the advocates of various interpretations of back to nature silviculture. It might be difficult to pinpoint what a sustainable future for forestry entails, but it is clear that a sustainable future for forestry to a greater extent than previously will require balancing commodity and environmental and nature values both against one another and against any concerns felt to be relevant by the various stakeholders. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.