FOREST BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY and TECHNOLOGY

The Research Programme Forest Ecology, Biology and Technology (RP FBET) in cooperation with other complementary national and international programmes and institutions focuses on forest ecosystems as core areas of the biodiversity hotbelt in European terrestrial ecosystems. Forests are the key to biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, provision of renewable raw materials, air and ground water quality and consequently human and animal health. As the main renewable resource and considering the large-scale disturbances and climate change consequences the need for research and professional based support for future forests is growing. RP FBET builds on supporting excellent science, to study and support utilization, and to conserve dynamic and rich, yet vulnerable forests facing accelerated threats and challenges. It combines research efforts within six working groups with a modular organization. Each module (WG) will use sets of routine approaches combined with highly specialised and cutting-edge techniques. WG1 will focus on long-term studies detecting causes - effect relationships between environmental factors and functional characteristics of plant and animal species, focusing on the flow of carbon, greenhouse gasses, nutrients and water and the impact of anthropogenic pollutants. Studies are in connection with WG2 where adaptation of forest ecosystems in response to threats and challenges will be studied in a multifaceted approach. Methods for functional genomics, epigenomics and the study of complex biological systems (community genomics, metagenomics) including adaptive genetic diversity studies, in above- and below-ground parts of the forest ecosystem will be developed and applied. Specific approaches will be used in WG3 to understand mechanisms, underlying the relationships among harmful organisms and their hosts as a drive to undertake actions or to manage the forests in a way to reduce the possible damages of changing climatic conditions and globalization. Using dendrochronology and ecophysiological studies in WP4 will contribute to understanding of tree response to changing environment in interaction with silvicultural practises and seek for solutions to increase resistance/resilience of forests and wood quality under stress conditions. WP5 will develop indicators for monitoring sustainable management of forest ecosystems and ecosystem services, while WP6 will evaluate the transition of forest and wood-based sector in Slovenia into sustainable bioeconomy, tailor the business models for forest contractors and increase the sustainable utilization of wood to generate higher long-term added value and stability of forests.

Climate change, associated extreme weather events, outbreaks of forest-tree diseases and harmful organisms and activities for its mitigation and adaptation to support forest growth within their present areas, biodiversity and ecosystem services has been part of the research programme (RP) in the last 6-years period, and continues to be its primary goal in the next period. Achieving these goals is possible only through a multi-faceted approach covering all parts of the forest ecosystem, using modern research equipment and the continuous development of methodologies, including advanced statistical methods. RP also contributes to many international and national research projects in all fields of forest science and technology. The accuracy of simulations of processes and trends, as well as the detection of cause-effect relationships between environmental factors and the functional characteristics of plant and animal species can only be provided by long-term studies and data collection focusing on the flow of carbon, nutrients and water and the impact of anthropogenic pollutants. We contribute to the knowledge of the impacts of ecological conditions on sites, forest management and extreme weather events on biotic diversity at different levels from individual specimen, species, population, forest stand, habitat type and landscape, and related ecosystem services. The ability of forests to cope with changing environment depends on the adaptive potential - the genetic diversity of forest trees and related organisms. We will develop methods for the structural characterization of populations, genomes, genes, mRNAs in different environmental conditions and development stages, the analysis of epigenetic modifications, complex biological systems (communities, e.g. microbial communities in soil) and adaptive genetic diversity in above- and belowground parts of the forest ecosystem. We will continue with the development of forest genetic monitoring, which was designed within the Lifegenmon project (LIFE). Due to globalization, alien harmful organisms are becoming one of the main problems in our forests. Due to global changes and associated extreme weather events resulting in reduced resistance of forest trees, indigenous populations of fungi and insects pose an increasing problem, too. By investigating the mechanisms underlying the relationships among harmful organisms and their hosts and the development of methods for detection, identification, control, monitoring and eradication, we help prevent or reduce the spread of harmful/invasive organisms, economic damage and negative effects on the biodiversity of our forests. With reconstructions of the past climatic conditions and associated responses of the selected tree species, more detailed simulations of the development of forests and the response of individual tree species in the future will be possible. To achieve this, we will focus on use of a wide range of tree growth rings properties, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, and parameters of wood quality in the Balkan peninsula. Studies of radial growth and ecophysiological responses of trees and forest ecosystems to environmental stress factors (with emphasis on extreme weather events) considering different silvicultural regimes will bring new insights into the understanding of the plasticity of the selected tree species under different environmental conditions and implementation of good practices into forest management.

In a policy framework, forests are governed by forestry, nature conservation, phytosanitary and energy legislative, making forestry research a multisectoral endeavour, contributing to the development of all the listed sectors. In the global context, this RP contributes with new knowledge and data to fulfilment of the requirements of the international conventions, agreements, and sustainable development goals. Within the EU policy, the RP contributes to achieving high level of forest conservation and sustainability (beyond current duration) to FOREST EUROPE process, legislation (e.g. EU’s 2030 Energy and Climate Framework and LULUCF) and strategies. Developing indicators will contribute to the development of forestry policy and a harmonized comparable monitoring of the development of forests in space and time for national and international reporting. The outputs of RP FBET shall enable forest professionals, forest owners, state agencies, the Ministry, responsible for forestry, and the Ministry and agency, responsible for the environment, a proper direction and activities for preserving and improving forest health and resilience, as health of forests is considered a public good. Furthermore, our research outputs shall improve the knowledge on (I) the availability of wood biomass and (II) current and future material flow balances, which depend on supply and demand of wood, which will be used to evaluate possible scenarios and facilitate the development of wood-based bio-economy in Slovenia. The proposed topic is in line with the objectives of e.g. the Slovenian Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, Strategies of the EC Europe 2020 on the Green Economy, etc. Evaluation of business models in forestry, will enable us to set-up a decision support platform for forest contractors. We anticipate our results will affect professionalization of the work in forests, which may in turn increase competitiveness of forestry sector. With higher competitiveness, organisation of work will be improved and ability to act more quickly in cases of exceptional events (e.g. windthrow, ice storm). In adition, professionalization contributes to increased safety and health at work, and thus reduced number of work-related accidents in the forestry sector. Studies of reproductive ability of selected animal species at different levels will be used to predict population number fluctuations. Transferring this knowledge to authorities and public can contribute to the increase of road traffic safety and reduce mortality of certain animal species. Furthermore, within the next 6 years we intend to apply at least one patent for measuring instruments in the field of ecological measurements within Laboratory for Electronic Devices. Our educational (forest pedagogy) and dissemination activities, including a launching of a new web portal, will raise the awareness among the general public of the importance of forest ecosystems and how they impact our everyday lives. Altogether, our research strategy contributes significantly to preservation of the Slovenian forests through improved forest conservation, protection, management and forestry sector practices – vital and healthy forests are paramount for maintaining air and ground water quality, deterioration of which would lead to an increase in human and animal health issues (negative economic impact). Furthermore, with proper management and forestry sector practices, Slovenian forests can serve as a sustainable source of raw materials for wood-based bio-economy. Finally, the international collaboration, presentations, organization of conferences and meetings will promote Slovenian forestry, forest science and technology, and Slovenia as a country.