European Forest Ecosystem Research Network (EFERN), was set up in 1996 as one result of the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of European Forests in Strasbourg 1990 and Helsinki 1993 with the aim of promoting ecological research for sustainable forest management. Three plenary meetings were held, each with a specific theme. The results of these meetings have been documented in 10 chapters in a volume with the title 'Pathways to the wise: use of forests in Europe'. The intention was also to give priorities for future forest ecosystem research. In accepting the idea that sustainability includes a multifunctional view of forests, there is a need to find ways of integrating classical forest ecosystem research with biodiversity, water quality and socio-economics. The balancing of the different interests in the forests can he done through planning. From this results also a choice of adequate management methods of the forest resources. The classical stand level in forestry requires now an additional scale - the landscape level, The aim with this paper is to present a concept which attempts to integrate the disciplines involved - ecosystem and landscape ecology and its components. Areas where research efforts are central are also mentioned.