Mission The physical conditions of Europe’s mountains are diverse leading to the great diversity of both ecosystems and land uses. These are highly varied across the mountains of Europe, which include some wealthy communities with highly industrialized and/or tourism-based economies in parts of western and northern Europe, but also poor regions with subsistence-based economies, particularly in southern and Eastern Europe. Yet throughout Europe, the mountain landscape reflects the interactions of human beings with biophysical systems over centuries. Mountain ecosystems of Europe are ideally suited to address ecological and social questions associate with adaptation to climate change. The MOUNTFOR research platform provides policy makers and forest managers with the mission to make the most appropriate choices when managing and further developing mountain forests, while achieving all socio-economic and environmental functions, as proposed by the current international processes and initiatives on mountains. The MOUNTFOR’s mission is creating collaborative research networks on topics of high relevance for mountain forests and forestry, promoting technology transfer and advanced learning, including the application for international and local projects, in support of the European Forest Institute’s goals. |