Challenges concerning terminology and methodology in forest sciences

Abstract Commonly used scientific terms and their specific meaning in the context of forest sciences and services were the focus of this article. Special attention was devoted to analyzing the meaning of ecological terminology such as “niche”, “homeostasis”, “natural” and “succession” in order to better understand problems related to the interaction between and within complex biological structures such as forest multi population ecosystems and the human population. Especially the role of Homo sapiens occupying an ecological niche in forest ecosystems, as well as in the Earth’s biosphere, formed the core in this discussion. One important challenge in terms of terminology and methodology concerns the considerable progress and interaction between achievements in the general sciences such as biology, physics, physiology, mathematics, sociology and economy as compared to forest sciences. Challenges are obviously accompanying the development in scientific terminology and are thus an important factor when conveying knowledge to the future doctors of forest sciences.