Table 1.

A preliminary framework of criteria for forest definitions that vary in importance for specific forest management objectives. The framework focuses on ecological and production criteria, but it is also important to include social and cultural criteria for defining and assessing forests. Criteria for definitions are not static, as forest management objectives will need to adapt to changing circumstances imposed by climate change, government policies, or international markets

Criteria for definition	Forest management objective
	Conservation of natural ecosystem	Timber management	Increase carbon stocks	Landscape restoration
Key properties for forest definition	Ecological properties, native biodiversity, and dominance of native trees	Legal designation, areal extent, size and density of trees	Areal extent, size and density of trees, land use history	Uses of trees, multiple ecosystem services, livelihoods, biodiversity conservation status
Value for timber production	Not important	Very important, as main objective of management	Important in terms of value for carbon stocks	Important for local livelihoods and smallholders
Value for carbon storage	Important for ecosystem functioning and climate mitigation	Important for management and climate mitigation	Very important as main objective	Important for ecosystem functioning and climate mitigation
Livelihoods of forest-dependent people	Important in the context of indigenous/community reserves	Important only within forestry sector	Not important	Very important as they are major stakeholders
Distinction between planted and natural forest	Very important, because of ecological properties and native biodiversity	Important, because of differences in tree properties and sensitivity in some markets	Not important, because the origin of carbon stock does not matter	Important, because of differential cost and benefits, effects on multiple ecosystem services, and forest-based livelihoods
Distinction between pre-existing and newly established forests (reforests)	Very important because successional stages vary in ecological properties and native biodiversity	Important because of forest management, tree properties and timber yield	Very important because of differences in carbon stocks and additionality constraints	Very important because of different ecological and economic properties and additionality
Distinction between continuous and fragmented forest	Very important because of impacts on ecological properties, connectivity and biodiversity conservation	Important because of sensitivity in some markets to origins of timber sources	Not important because the origin of carbon stock does not matter	Very important because of effects on ecosystem services, connectivity, and biodiversity conservation
Distinction between native and non-native trees in forest	Very important because of impacts on ecological properties and native biodiversity	Important because of differences in tree and wood properties	Not important because the origin of carbon stock does not matter	Important because of effects on ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation