Slovenian Forestry Institute
Contacts
- Dr. Nike Kranjc
- Dr. Urša Vilhar
ursa.vilhar@gozdis.si
The Slovenian Forestry Institute was one of the establishing partners of the LifeWatch Slovenia in 2015. It is a public research institute of national importance, which conducts basic and applied research on forests and forest landscapes, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, hunting, forest management, and other uses of the resources and services forests provide. The scientific knowledge from these fields helps further the research on forest biodiversity and its management in relation to climate change.
Research
The main research of the Slovenian Forest Institute is organised in the research programme Forest Biology, Ecology and Technology, supported by INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMME with modern laboratory equipment, collections and research areas.
The Slovenian Forest Institute is organised into six departments that are involved in research on forests for sustainable development of society in harmony with the environment:
Department of Forest Ecology; Department of Forest Physiology and Genetics; Department of Forest Engineering and Management; Department of Forest and Landscape Planning and Monitoring; Department of Silviculture and Forest Management; Department of Forest Protection
The Slovenian Forest Institute is involved in several international programmes and initiatives (e.g. UN-ECE CLRTAP, ICP Forests) and develops research and infrastructure for ecological monitoring and modelling of forest processes and biodiversity in a network of national research plots in Slovenia.
Using state-of-the-art research methods, including the development and testing of research procedures, laboratory standards, data quality documentation, and databases, they are part of a transnational network of plots that provides an outstanding asset for European biodiversity scientists.
The plots and data are also available to third parties and are stored in the databases of ICP Forests, the European Coordination Centres for Forest Soils and Leaf Patterns, and the European Data Centre. At the same time, the collected data are also relevant to other monitoring, modelling and research networks, such as ICP IM, ICP M&M, EMEP, LTER-Europe, CarboEUROPE, ICOS, EPOS, etc.
Projects
ForPlat database
The Slovenian Forestry Institute is developing a research infrastructure for assessing biodiversity and the impact of various environmental factors on forest ecosystem processes as part of the RI-SI -LifeWatch project. State-of-the-art research methods are used, including method development and testing, field and laboratory research, laboratory standards, databases, and a network of national research plots in Slovenia that will be part of a transnational data network and make an important contribution to international biodiversity and ecosystem research. Field equipment and measurement systems for monitoring microclimate, air quality and pollutants, phenological development of trees, stem growth, tree phenology, etc. are installed at the forest research plots, which includes the development and testing of forest research procedures in the field. At the same time, novel laboratory equipment for clean water production and a spectrum analyzer are essential for developing the latest analytical methods and laboratory standards. The establishment of the ForPlat database with the necessary documentation of data quality, which is an important development step in the framework of a transnational network of forest ecosystem data.
Laboratory for Forest Ecology
- Type II laboratory water treatment apparatus
- Micrometeorological station with temperature and humidity gauge
(in a white shield), solar panel and sensors for measuring soil
temperature and humidity - An electronic dendrometer, which is also part of the measuring
station and connects to the data logger - Camera for tree phenological observations
Forest research monitoring plots
- Automated outdoor camera for tree phenological observations
Publications
Vilhar U., Kermavnar J., Kozamernik E., Petrič M., Ravbar N. 2022. The effects of large-scale forest disturbances on hydrology – An overview with special emphasis on karst aquifer systems. Earth-Science Reviews, 104243
Informacijski sistem FOR-PLAT. FERLAN, Mitja (editor), HLADNIK, Jože (editor), KERMAVNAR, Janez (editor), KOZAMERNIK, Erika (editor), LEVANIČ, Tom (editor), MARINŠEK, Aleksander (editor), SIMONČIČ, Primož (editor), ŠTEFANIČ, David (editor), ŽLINDRA, Daniel (editor), VILHAR, Urša (editor). Ljubljana: Gozdarski inštitut Slovenije, 2022-. ISSN 2820-4735. http://forplat.net/. [COBISS.SI-ID 113647875]
PIPAN, Tanja, ALJANČIČ, Magdalena, ČELIGOJ BIŠČAK, Jasmina, FERLAN, Mitja, FIŠER, Cene, KREBELJ, Matej, PIPENBAHER, Nataša, RAMŠAK, Andreja, TREKMAN, Adrijana, VILHAR, Urša. Končno poročilo o izvajanju operacije RI-SI-LifeWatch. [S. l.: ZRC SAZU, 2021]. 29 str., ilustr. [COBISS.SI-ID 81063427]
VILHAR, Urša, FERLAN, Mitja, ZUPANC, Boštjan, ŠTEFANIČ, David, PLEŠKO, Anton, ŽELEZNIK, Anže, KOZAMERNIK, Erika, ŽLINDRA, Daniel, MARINŠEK, Aleksander, LEVANIČ, Tom, KRAJNC, Robert, SKUDNIK, Mitja, RUPEL, Matej, TREKMAN, Adrijana, SIMONČIČ, Primož. FOR-PLAT LifeWatch RI-SI : infrastruktura in inovativno podatkovno spletišče Gozdarskega inštituta Slovenije : predavanje na spletnem srečanju Upravnega odbora LifeWatch-SI in širšega nacionalnega konzorcija eLTER in LifeWatch, 19. februar 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 87568643]