Abstract Forests are essential to the global green transition, but intensified management may undermine environmental goals. Continuous cover forestry (CCF) offers an alternative, balancing timber production and ecosystem conservation. We investigated the legislative and technical feasibility of CCF in riparian buffers along freshwaters, where it could potentially restore simplified stands and better protect water. We analyzed EU, national, and global policies identifying barriers and enablers and used GIS data from 11 Swedish sites estimating the share of productive forest converted to CCF under varying buffer widths. Results show CCF in riparian buffers is feasible, with few legislative barriers and several soft enablers. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation is a key enabler, as CCF-managed buffers can contribute to restoration targets, providing opportunities for different property sizes to meet multiple management objectives. Future feasibility depends on EU member states’ implementation of the regulation and alignment of ecological goals with political and economic conditions.
Mancheva et al. (Fri,) studied this question.