Research on forest ecosystems is abundant, yet the societal needs for forest ecosystem services (FES) remains less examined. Understanding these needs—especially across different societal actors—offers a promising path to ease pressure on the provision of forest ecosystem services and navigate the goal conflicts of forest policy under the EU Green Deal. Using a semi-systematic literature review, we categorize the existing research on the need for forest ecosystem services within distinct European forestry paradigms and investigate how well the literature covers each service and actor type. In 107 assessed articles, we find that cultural ecosystem services are researched most prominently while provisioning services are addressed the least. While the literature in our corpus is inclined towards recreationists and the public, crucial actors such as forest owners or forest managers are examined seldomly. Furthermore, we find several articles that assess the synergies and conflicts fostered by different management approaches. We connect this finding to a qualitative mismatch between the need for forest ecosystem services described in the literature and the provision of these services that is shaped by different ideas on sustainable forest management. By highlighting gaps and shortcomings in the literature we set the stage for future research on the need for forest ecosystem services.

We performed a systematic evidence synthesis to assess the current and future demand for forest ecosystem services, including wood products, in Europe.

The studied papers were organized into the forest paradigms of Winkel et al. (2011) based on their geographic scope.

We find that demand for both roundwood and bioenergy is likely to increase in the coming years. Looking at ecosystem services, a clear demand preference for mixed forest stands over monocultures was found.

Secondly, we found a strong demand, based on willingness to pay, for regulating and maintaining services. Given the large geographical and structural diversity in Europe's forests, no one size fits all solution when it comes to forest management is appropriate. Therefore, a set of management options is likely needed to meet the future demands for all ecosystem services.

Additionally, the growing demand for provisioning services, in particular bioenergy, might lead to conflicting management goals, especially when biodiversity and conservation are considered. Due to a lack of knowledge on the forest ecosystem, the general public has been found to hold contradicting views.

Mapping the management history and the current state of Europe’s forests to better understand the impact different forest management methods have on forests across Europe.

Using data from long-term monitoring sites and satellite observations to assess and quantify climate effects occurring in forests across Europe.

Working closely with forest owners, forest policy makers and other key stakeholder to identify the most optimal forest management options for the coming decades.

Bringing together advanced modelling capacity and state-of-the-art scenarios to explore how forests will change in the future.