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Retention forestry, which retains a portion of the original stand at the time of harvesting to maintain continuity of structural and compositional diversity, has been originally developed to mitigate the impacts of clear‐cutting. Retention of habitat trees and deadwood has since become common practice also in continuous‐cover forests of Central Europe. While the use of retention in these forests is plausible, the evidence base for its application is lacking, trade‐offs have not been quantified, it is not clear what support it receives from forest owners and other stakeholders and how it is best integrated into forest management practices. The Research Training Group ConFoBi (Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple‐use Landscapes of Central Europe) focusses on the effectiveness of retention forestry, combining ecological studies on forest biodiversity with social and economic studies of biodiversity conservation across multiple spatial scales. The aim of ConFoBi is to assess whether and how structural retention measures are appropriate for the conservation of forest biodiversity in uneven‐aged and selectively harvested continuous‐cover forests of temperate Europe. The study design is based on a pool of 135 plots (1 ha) distributed along gradients of forest connectivity and structure. The main objectives are (a) to investigate the effects of structural elements and landscape context on multiple taxa, including different trophic and functional groups, to evaluate the effectiveness of retention practices for biodiversity conservation; (b) to analyze how forest biodiversity conservation is perceived and practiced, and what costs and benefits it creates; and (c) to identify how biodiversity conservation can be effectively integrated in multi‐functional forest management. ConFoBi will quantify retention levels required across the landscape, as well as the socio‐economic prerequisites for their implementation by forest owners and managers. ConFoBi's research results will provide an evidence base for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management in temperate forests., This paper describes the background, research questions and design of the Research Training Group “ConFoBi” (Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple‐use Landscapes of Central Europe). ConFoBi focusses on the effectiveness of retention forestry, that is, retaining structural elements of old forests within a production forest matrix, and combines ecological studies on forest biodiversity with social and economic studies of biodiversity conservation across multiple spatial scales. The aim of ConFoBi is to assess whether and how structural retention measures are appropriate for the conservation of forest biodiversity in multiple‐use landscapes of temperate Europe.

Marteloscopes are multifunctional training tools that can create a better understanding of forest management and have been developed as didactic tools for virtual tree selections. With this paper the authors provide explanatory information on the more than 40 Marteloscopes that were established in the course of the project Integrate+. It presents the Marteloscope plot design, gives insight on their set up and the type of data that is recorded for each site. Methods are described on how to calculate e.g. habitat and economic values. The paper elaborates on the use of Marteloscopes as silvicultural training tools and their value in forest education. With the help of the tablet software “I+” virtual management interventions can be performed and the results immediately retrieved. We exemplary present a few options on how the Marteloscope dataset of more than 15,000 recorded trees may serve as stimulus for scientific investigations. Examples are stand development projections, future evolution of tree microhabitats and the calculating of structural complexity and competition indices. An annex separate to this paper contains the bulk of the Integrate + Marteloscopes in the form of information fact sheets.

International audience; Although the wild service tree [Sorbus torminalis L. (Crantz)] is generally rare, it is fairly common in the oak coppices of central Europe. There is little knowledge about its regeneration and growth in spite of the high value of the wood. Since coppicing is less and less popular, questions arise as to the survival of S. torminalis populations by way of continuous forest cover or whether there is a need to maintain coppicing to preserve this species. Three one-hectare experimental plots of oak coppices in Germany were studied to quantify the presence of this species. The age of 62 trees was determined. Girth growth and height were reconstructed by analysing growth rings on 20 trees. The results suggest that coppicing encourages the establishment of S. torminalis and that service trees are extremely tolerant to shade and to competition. Regenerations appear continuously over the last 80 years. It is therefore expected that discontinuing coppicing would not threaten S. torminalis.; L’Alisier torminal [Sorbus torminalis L. (Crantz)] quoique rare est relativement présent dans les taillis de chênes d’Europe centrale. Les connaissances sur sa régénération et sa croissance sont peu nombreuses malgré un bois de haute valeur. Le taillis étant actuellement en forte régression, des interrogations se posent vis-à-vis de la persistance de la population de S. torminalis en tant que couvert forestier continu ou de la nécessité du taillis pour préserver l’espèce. Sur trois parcelles expérimentales d’un hectare de taillis de chênes situées en Allemagne, la présence de l’espèce a été quantifiée. L’âge de 62 arbres a été déterminé. La croissance en diamètre et hauteur a été reconstruite par analyses des cernes de croissance sur 20 arbres. Les résultats suggèrent que le taillis favorise l’établissement de S. torminalis et que l’Alisier est extrêmement tolérant à l’ombre et à la compétition. Lors des 80 dernières années, une régénération apparaît continuellement. L’arrêt du taillis ne serait donc pas une menace pour S. torminalis.