A systematic literature review on the use of the ecosystem services concept in sustainability assessments for forestry

A sustainability assessment is any approach that can steer decision-making towards sustainability, but its utilization for improving forest ecosystem services (FES) provision has not yet been thoroughly investigated. We applied a systematic literature review methodology and identified 109 scientific articles that utilize approaches that can be classified as sustainability assessments that utilize the ES and nature’s contribution to people (NCP) concepts for forest ecosystems. We found that over half of the 1243 indicators in the studies are FES related, encompassing regulating, provision, cultural and supporting ES. Meanwhile, an array of social, economic, environmental, and cross-cutting indicators which have the potential to affect FES provision were identified. Our review suggests that the potential of sustainability assessments for FES provision can be strengthened by the ES and NCP concepts, and should be inter- and transdisciplinary in nature being that a holistic, context-specific account of the forest being examined is needed.