In recent decades, Mediterranean landscapes have been affected by human-induced drivers, such as land use and climate change. Forest ecosystems and landscapes have been particularly affected in mountainous regions due to limited management and stewardship, especially in remote areas. Therefore, there is a need to set up new strategies to enhance ecosystem services in forested areas which, in turn, will benefit local communities and economies. In this study, we implemented a new approach—Multiscale Mapping of Ecosystem Services (MIMOSE)—to assess ecosystem services in Mediterranean forests located in a mountainous region of Italy. We spatially assessed timber provision and carbon sequestration according to three forest management strategies: business-as-usual, maximizing economic values, and prioritizing conservation. Sustainable strategies for forest planning were identified at the landscape scale. We found that (i) timber provision is a conflicting service, especially when adaptation strategies are promoted; (ii) the most balanced set of forest ecosystem services is achieved through prioritizing conservation; and (iii) the ecosystem services availability is enhanced by optimizing the spatial allocation of different management strategies. Our approach is suitable to support landscape planning for balancing forest ecosystem potentialities while respecting local community needs and promoting sustainable development goals in the Mediterranean area.

In Italy the prescribed silvicultural system for beech high forests has usually been the uniform shelterwood system. This system has not always been carried out and completed in the sequence codified by the literature. Consequently, beech forests show highly variable structures which do not meet the canons of classical silviculture. On the other hand, selection felling has usually been considered inadequate for beech forests because of the supposed “natural” tendency of this species towards even aged structures and of the belief that only even aged beech stands produce high quality timber. This paper analyzes a beech stand of 10 ha, “Baldo’s forest” from the name of its owner. This stand has been managed since the first half of the nineteenth century by the same family with a type of single tree selection felling carried out according to criteria handed down from father to son. This type of treatment aimed at the production of timber assortments linked to local traditions (wooden snow shovels carved out from one piece of beech wood); today the beech timber is sold to the furniture industry and provides a satisfactory income for the owner. All the trees have been inventoried in four permanent plots, each located in a part of the stand which has been selectively felled in a different year. Structural analysis has been carried out. Results show that the stand has a structure which is typical of single tree uneven aged stands. Crown cover is almost complete and regeneration is a continuous process.