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The effects of climate change on natural ecosystems are increasingly more visible. Being mountain forest ecosystems the most vulnerable and therefore the most affected ecosystems, they appear to be the most suitable for the assessment of climate change effects on ecosystem services. Accord-ingly, the paper reviews the literature on the economic assessment of climate change impacts in Eu-ropean mountain forests. Initially, the trends in the provision of mountain forest ecosystem services are discussed. The literature review also takes into account the effects on forest structure and trees physiology, being these two effects strictly associated with the capability of the ecosystem to pro-vide services. The results of this first part of the paper have been presented into a table that dis-plays both the trends and the quality and the quantity of the information available. Subsequently, the main methods that can be employed to assess the economic value of the different ecosystem ser-vices have been described. For each method some examples of implementation have been de-scribed. In the conclusion, the main gaps still existing in scientific literature concerning the effects of climate change on ecosystem services provided by mountain forests have been highlighted. Be-cause of the heterogeneity of the considered ecosystems it is of fundamental importance to have a comprehensive view of the phenomenon. Finally, some more remarks about the existing methods for the economic valuation of ecosystem services has been done.

The purpose of this paper is to provide background analysis on the critical role played by healthy and resilient forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As the largest storehouse of carbon after the oceans, forests already absorb and store about 30 per cent of current levels of carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry into their biomass, soils and wood products, and have the potential to store much more. At present, however, about 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to derive from deforestation, a process which is itself made more acute by the impacts of climate change. Forests can also help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, stabilising and cooling local climates, including water flow and rainfall.

Until recently, considerably more attention was paid to using forests to mitigate climate change, through the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, than there was on considering the need to adapt forests to avoid the worst effects that climate change could have on them. The switch from a mitigation-heavy approach to one that considers adaptation in a more balanced manner underscores the need to have approaches to assess the vulnerability of forests to climate change. One reason for this more balanced focus may be due to the realization by the broader public, governmental organizations and the forest science community that the climate change that has already occurred is permanent in human terms, because it takes centuries for much of the CO2 emitted from fossil fuel sources to be removed from the atmosphere. There are already substantial impacts that are being seen in the world’s forests. These impacts are certain to continue increasing until CO2 emissions drop to lower levels. For that reason, adaptation of the world’s forests requires attention. The approaches to assessing vulnerability can be categorized according to the focus they each provide. Contextual vulnerability addresses current issues of climate and is usually evaluated using participatory techniques with people who live in, or work with, forests. Outcome vulnerability looks at the biophysical vulnerability of forests; it is often used to assess the cause-and-effect of climate change on a biological system. Vulnerability assessments can be highly technical and quantitative, using advanced computer programs and geographic information systems, or they can be based on social science approaches to obtaining qualitative information from people.