Forests and forest management in Slovenia

Protective forests are forests that protect land from sedimentation, washing and erosion, forests on steep slopes or water banks, forests that are exposed to strong winds, forests that hold back rapid runoff of water in torrential areas and therefore protect land from erosion and landslides, forest belts that protect forests and land from wind, water, and landslides, forests in agricultural and suburban landscapes with an extremely emphasised function of preserving biodiversity, and forests at the upper limit of forest vegetation.

There are 98 828 ha of protective forests in Slovenia (around 8%).

Special purpose forests with an extremely emphasised research function are forest reserves. These are forests that, due to their developmental stage and development to date, are extremely important for research, study and monitoring of the natural development of forests, biodiversity and the protection of natural values ​​and cultural heritage.

There are 9 426 ha of special purpose forests in Slovenia (less than 1%).

In the selection method forest trees of all dimensions are represented on a small surface area, ensuring sustainable production and conservation of the sites's potential. Regeneration is continuos, and the growth and development of threes are more individualised compare to the irregular shelterwood system. The canopy cover is not continuous, but variable, multi-layered and following a stepwise structure. A fifth of the forests in Croatia is also managed according to this method.

In the social ascent of trees, the overgrowing of individual trees appears when the light conditions or the release of competitors allows the passage from one to the other layer. In the selection stands we may define the various stand positions of the forest tree as follows:

1. the position of suppressed, waiting individuals is characterised by shady microsites, where height growth is suppressed, and only the most vigorous individuals survive. Shade tolerant species like silver fir could dwell in this position for more than hundred of years.
2. the position of runners is indicated by smaller gaps and light shafts, where height growth is rapidly increased due to the increased light environment or release of the competitors.
3. the position of winners or carriers marks the point when the social ascent is completed, and a long period of stable, unsuppressed height and radial growth is initiated.

This forest management system is not suitable for all tree species and all sites, it is more adapted to shade tolerant species that thrive in modest light conditions - especially for conifers (spruce and fir). The selection method is more demanding in the case of broadleaves (beech and oak), especially due to unwanted forms of growth and poor assortment quality if the light is not sufficient - leading to high associated costs.

Free silvicultural approach is one of the youngest and it includes the principles of plentering, selection and irregular shelterwood systems. It is characterised by the free choice of silvicultural measures but requires a lot of professional competence and consistency. It is suitable for all types of sites and stands, but most of all in cases where we can not only consider the principles of irregluar shelterwood or plentering alone: it may be applied on degraded and changed stands, where there are problems associated with inappropriate former management or in degraded or declining forests, where site and stand conditions require great flexibility with regard to the silvicultural approaches adopted. It combines elements of various approaches on small surface areas and requires careful and demanding planning according to the established management objectives. 

Tending measures are applied in all stand development phases. The goal of each development phase is its next stage, where their characteristics and properties are described in detail - the quality, the structure and the possible peculiarities of the site.

• In the youngest development stage direct tending is performed to protect saplings in the herbal layer by regulating the species admixture and cleaning.
• By cleaning the dense young forest (2-3m in height) a mass of quality individuals is selected and the conditions for social ascent are provided. Future quality is increased by removal of overgrown and branched trees, and by thus reducing the density greater mechanical stability is provided.
• After stratification in the former stage is finished and the economically interesting properties of individuals begin to appear, we start to perform selective thinning to stimulate growth, as the growing space is restricted. The former mass selection progressively transforms to selected groups and/or responsive individuals. The frequency of thinning is species and site specific.