The Department of Forest Ecology at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of Mendel University in Brno (FFWT MENDELU), in cooperation with the Masaryk Forest Training Enterprise at Křtiny (ŠLP Křtiny), has launched monitoring of selected close-to-nature forest management models. Real-time data collection is being carried out using modern technologies and methods. Thanks to collaboration with the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe), the data is stored in the extensive research infrastructure focused on forest ecosystem biomonitoring, the DendroNetwork. This unique initiative will significantly expand the volume of up-to-date information on forest stands, which will be available to both the professional and general public.
A lack of current data on forest ecosystem functioning has long been a challenge in the forestry sector. Discussions between practicing foresters and scientists led to the targeted selection of management models deemed crucial for adapting forests to climate change while maintaining the resilience of forest ecosystems and ensuring sustainable forest production functions:
“In cooperation with the Forest training Enterprise, we selected a diverse composition of both deciduous and coniferous tree species for research in the university’s forests. Specifically, the research focuses on oak, beech, larch, pine, and spruce, managed using various methods that result in forests with greater diversity in age, structure, and species composition. This diversity is a significant added value for research focused on collecting temporal and spatial data on forest stands,” explained Jan Světlík, Head of the Department of Forest Ecology.
Experts from the FFWT installed stations with modems to transmit data in the studied stands: “Each station monitors soil moisture, soil water potential, soil temperature, light conditions under the canopy, and air temperature and humidity every 30 minutes. Highly sensitive band dendrometers are attached to trees to measure changes in trunk circumference. This allows us not only to measure trunk growth dynamics but also to detect whether specific trees are suffering from, for example, drought,” the researcher described the monitored parameters.
Currently, 14 online monitoring stations are in operation in the stands managed by ŠLP Křtiny, a coverage level made possible thanks to financial support from the Forest Training Enterprise:
“This is an example of an investment funded by the revenue from university forests, meaning that the income generated from forestry activities is reinvested into forest research, the results of which will benefit society as a whole. Forest adaptation to climate change involves a degree of uncertainty, as we base new management practices on climate development prediction models. That is why it is extremely important for us to monitor, in real time, the growth response of stands managed with different silvicultural models under the same climate conditions—so we can identify the safest forest management practices for the future,” said Tomáš Vrška, Director of ŠLP Křtiny.
The datasets collected by the FFWT MENDELU experts, in cooperation with the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, are stored in the extensive research infrastructure focused on forest ecosystem biomonitoring—the DendroNetwork:
“We expect that this densification and expansion of the DendroNetwork within the Forest Training Enterprise area will support other research teams, improve student education, broaden the range of topics for their theses, and raise public interest in the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to increasingly frequent adverse conditions. It must be said that we still have a long way to go to fully realize the potential of this type of data,” concluded Světlík, the initiative’s lead representative for the FFWT MENDELU.
Contact for further information: Ing. Jan Světlík, Ph.D., Department of Forest Ecology, FFWT MENDELU, +420 777 455 518 jan.svetlik@mendelu.cz