Reconciling the Tradeoff between Economic and Ecological Objectives in Habitat-Tree Selection: A Comparison between Students, Foresters, and Forestry Trainers

Habitat trees — individual trees that bear important microhabitats for forest-related species — are a key silvicultural tool for integrating biodiversity goals into forests managed for wood production. Retaining such trees can support conservation but often occurs at the expense of timber value. The study investigates how participants with different backgrounds select habitat trees in a marteloscope (an outdoor, tree-marked training plot) to understand how economic and ecological objectives are traded off during decision-making.

In a structured exercise, students, district foresters, and forestry trainers were asked to mark habitat trees. Results showed that all groups tended to select trees with relatively low economic value, but the ecological (habitat) value of their choices varied substantially. Selection behavior was clearly influenced by expertise: forestry trainers made more consistent and arguably better-aligned choices than both students and foresters. Overall, the results indicate that optimal habitat-tree selection is not intuitive and requires targeted expertise; this has implications for training and practice in multifunctional forest management.