Forests, especially mixed forests, are recognized as reser­voirs of biodiversity, as contributors to improved water quality and availability and as an important component of the carbon economy.
     Sustainable forest management cannot be considered without taking into account the many changes that affect the environmental, societal and economic context. Compet­ing land uses can result in forest fragmentation and can con­tribute to climate change, invasive species, increase of energy prices of fossil fuels and the new cost of carbon emissions. All of these, among other factors, can have implications for social expectations of forests and forest management as well as natural areas in general (Raison et al., 2001; Houllier et al., 2005; Dekker et al., 2007).
     Integrated   forest   management   methods   addressing both timber production and ecosystem management have appeared in the NAE (Rauscher, 1999). This management can lead to sustainable development of forests with overall economic, social and environmental benefits. More research

will assist in better understanding the multifunctional role of forests from an economic, social and environmental per­spective and promote it through appropriate sustainable management methods.
     Integrating the multifunctional role of forests. The defi­nition of forest multifunctionality has changed over the de­cades from a simple three-fold categorization of production of wood, protection and restoration of the environment and social functions into something more complex with multi­ple functions added under each category. For example, the "production" function now comprises a larger range of for­est products such as wood products, bioenergy, green spe­cialty chemicals, novel composites (Table 6-2).
     In order to integrate the multifunctional role of forests better it is important to understand how forests can contrib­ute to these functions and the extent to which these func­tions could be simultaneously realized through definition of optimal management methods that guarantee the provision of these functions as explained below.