Departmental Description – what we do

Primary production of forest ecosystems
  • Allometry
  •  Wood anatomy
  •  Dendrochronology
  •  Phenology
  •  Growth of woody plants and biomass production
  •  Carbon sequestration
  •  Impacts of climate change on woody plants
Biodiversity
  • Forest management models and their effects on animal biodiversity
  •  Study of invertebrate predators
  •  Invertebrate taxonomy
  •  Impact of landscape structure on biodiversity
Secondary production
  • Application of molecular-genetic methods in food chains
  •  Feeding and population ecology of small mammals
  •  Impact of small mammals on forest tree plantations
  •  Return of large carnivores to the cultural landscape of Europe
  •  Dynamics of food webs
Ecological stability
  • Foreign substances and elements in the environment
  •  Definition and significance of indicators of forest ecosystem functioning
  •  Stabilization of hazardous elements in contaminated soils
  •  Toxicological risks of agrochemicals to beneficial invertebrates

Background – where we work

  • Building T on the University campus – houses the main facilities for scientific work. The Department’s offices are located on the building’s 1st and 2nd floors.
  • The Primary Production Laboratory in Building T is dedicated to the processing of plant biomass samples.
  • The Secondary Production Laboratory and the associated Autopsy Room in Building T are used to process animal samples and are subject to the university’s authorisation to use wild experimental animals.
  • The Rájec Ecosystem Station is part of the Czech Republic’s National Scientific Research Infrastructure for Carbon Monitoring (CzeCOS) and the DendroNetwork monitoring group. The station provides facilities for investigating the influence of climate on spruce ecosystem functioning, along with phenological and dendrochronological observations and long-term monitoring of energy and substance flows.
  • The Lednice Ecosystem Station provides facilities for monitoring the Central European floodplain forest biome.

Cooperation – we are not alone

  • Our Department places great emphasis on cooperation with research departments, universities, conservation organisations and commercial businesses. Such cooperation is essential for successful research, project implementation and transfer of current knowledge into teaching and commercial practice. We are also actively involved in several important international networks as science cannot be undertaken in isolation. Through these partnerships, we share knowledge, resources and innovation, allowing us to push the boundaries of our capabilities and contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
List of international partners
  • Atlantic Technological University  
  • Babeș-Bolyai University
  • European University Foundation
  • Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
  • German-Mongolian Institute for Resource and Technology
  • HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
  • Icelandic Forest Service
  • Ilia State University  
  • Kasetsart University  
  • Khon Kaen University
  • Microhumus, Francie
  • Mongolian University of Life Sciences
  • National University of Mongolia
  • Nature Research Centre, Vilnius  
  • Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
  • Technická univerzita vo Zvolene
  • Transilvania University of Brașov
  • University of Copenhagen  
  • University of Iceland
  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna [
  • University of Oviedo
  • University of Oxford
  • Université de Rennes
  • University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne
  • Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave 
  • Utah State University
  • Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) 
List of university, scientific and research institutions
  • Biologické centrum AV ČR, v. v. i.
  • Botanický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i.
  • Czechglobe – Ústav výzkumu globálni změny, AV ČR v. v. i.
  • Ústav biologie obratlovců Akademie věd ČR, v. v. i.
  • Centrum dopravního výzkumu, v. v. i.
  • Česká lesnická akademie Trutnov
  • Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze
  • Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
  • Masarykova univerzita
  • Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem
  • Univerzita Karlova
  • Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
  • Vysoká škola báňská – Technická univerzita Ostrava
  • Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze
  • Vysoké učení technické v Brně
  • Výzkumný a šlechtitelský ústav ovocnářský Holovousy, s. r. o.
  • Výzkumný ústav lesního hospodářství a myslivosti, v. v. i.
  • Výzkumný ústav Silva Taroucy pro krajinu a okrasné zahradnictví
Commercial collaboration
  • Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny ČR
  • Biskupské lesy
  • Český svaz ochránců přirody
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
  • Diecézní lesy Hradec Králové s. r. o.
  • Environmental Measuring Systems s. r. o.
  • HBH Projekt spol. s. r. o.
  • Hnutí DUHA
  • Hnutí DUHA Šelmy
  • Klub českých turistů
  • Krajský úřad Jihomoravského kraje
  • Lesní svět
  • Lesy České republiky, s. p.
  • Lesy Colloredo Mansfeld s. r. o.
  • Lesy města Brna
  • MERCATA LES, s. r. o.
  • Ministerstvo životního prostředí
  • Mongolian walking association
  • Národné lesnícke centrum
  • Sdružení vlastníků obecních, soukromých a církevních lesů v ČR
  • Správa CHKO Pálava
  • Správa Národního parku Podyjí
  • Štátna ochrana prírody
  • Tatrzański Park Narodowy
  • Ústav pro hospodářskou úpravu lesů
  • Ústřední kontrolní a zkušební ústav zemědělský
  • Vojenské lesy a statky ČR, s. p.
National and international networks

Departmental staff – who we are

We are a collective of passionate scientists, young researchers and experienced teachers. The strength of our research team lies in its diversity. The Department acts as a base for academics with a wide range of international experience.

Ing. Jan Světlík, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor – Department of Forest Ecology
Head of department – Department of Forest Ecology
IFE FFWT, Zemědělská 3, 61300 Brno (Černá Pole)
Office: T3.04
+420 545 134 188
Department of Forest Ecology
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology
Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno
+420 545 134 180
List of employees

Department of Forest Ecology

Staff

Contact persons for thematic areas:

Mgr. Ondřej Nezval, Ph.D.
Primary production, phenology
+420 545 134 192
Mgr. Pavel Rotter, Ph.D.
Ecological stability, ecosystem pollutants, assessment of forest ecosystem function indicators
+420 545 134 179
Ing. Václav Pecina, Ph.D.
Alien substances in the environment, development projects in Mongolia
+420 545 134 522
Mgr. Radek Michalko, Ph.D.
Food web dynamics
+420 545 134 038
Ing. Tomáš Hamřík, Ph.D.
Biodiversity of spiders
+420 545 134 183
doc. Ing. Luboš Purchart, Ph.D.
Invertebrates
+420 545 134 012
Mgr. Ing. Tamara Wijacki, Ph.D.
Animal molecular biology methods, laboratory management
+420 545 134 191
Ing. et Ing. Ladislav Čepelka, Ph.D.
Small mammals
+420 545 134 501
Mgr. Miroslav Kutal, Ph.D.
Large carnivores
+420 545 134 501
Mgr. Martin Duľa, Ph.D.
Large carnivores
+420 545 134 501

History

  • The history of the department also dates back to the turn of 1968–1969, when the Department for the International Biological Programme was established to meet the need for studying the structure and productivity of natural systems under UNESCO’s International Biological Programme (IBP). At that time, the department was part of the rectorate of the then University of Agriculture in Brno (VŠZ) and was located in Soběšice.
  • In 1971, it was renamed the Department for the International Biological Programme and organisationally assigned to the Department of Forest Botany and Phytocoenology at the Faculty of Forestry.
  • From 1976, it was renamed the Department of Forest Ecology.
  • In the 1970s, the department actively participated in UNESCO’s “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) programme, which aimed to assess human impact on ecosystems and their potential future development. Research continued on floodplain forest development after water regime modifications and expanded to studying the structure and productivity of spruce monocultures and processes in these ecosystems (Rájec field station, Drahany highlands). Results included assessing the suitability of clear-cut forest regeneration in spruce monocultures and evaluating the role of forests in water quality and soil function.
  • In the 1980s, the department joined the “Impact of Pollution on Forests and Forestry in the Beskydy Mountains” project. A model for predicting pollutant entry into forest stands was developed, and issues of soil acidification, heavy metal contamination, and the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures on pollutant-damaged areas were addressed. Results contributed to three major international conferences under UNESCO-MAB and in cooperation with IUFRO.
  • In the 1990s, there was a major shift in research funding in the Czech Republic. The system transitioned from primarily institutional support to project-based funding through grant agencies and research programmes of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, as well as sectoral ministries. Newly formulated EU research programmes played a significant role. UNESCO research programmes were scaled down. In this new context, the department underwent a significant transformation and obtained the status of an educational and research institution. The scientific and research activities were limited to addressing specific current issues in forestry research and to developing scenarios for forest development under changing environmental conditions (forest protection, biodiversity conservation, forest adaptation mechanisms to climate change). Research on floodplain forest ecosystems and secondary spruce stands in upland and mountainous areas continued. In 1991, the research unit was relocated to the current Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University in Brno.
  • At the start of the millennium, research into the role of forest ecosystems under climate change was enhanced. The Rájec ecosystem station’s infrastructure was significantly upgraded and included in the international CzeCOS/ICOS monitoring network (coordinated by CzechGlobe).
  • Currently, climate change issues are closely linked to specific landscape ecosystem management practices and monitoring of mixed forests. The Rájec station is part of the national DendroNetwork monitoring system.