FORESTS IN SLOVENIA,    FORESTS IN EUROPE

Forestation and variety of forests

Slovenia belongs to the most forested countries in Europe. 1,186,104 ha of forests cover more than a half of its territory (forestation amounts to 58.5 %). Most Slovenian forests are located within the area of beech, fir-beech and beech-oak sites (70 %),  which have a relatively high production capacity.

Forest ownership

74 % of forests in Slovenia are private property, 26 % of forests are public (owned by the state or communes). Larger and undivided forest estates of state-owned forests enable good professional management.  Private forest estates are small, with an average area of only 3 ha and even these are further fragmented into several separate plots. For the great majority of these estates forests are not of economic interest. Private forest property is becoming even more fragmented as the number of forest owners is increasing. According to the latest data there are already 314,000 (with co-owners even 489,000) forest owners in Slovenia. The major fragmentation of forest property, the number of forest owners and co-owners, present a serious obstacle to professional work in private forests, to optimal timber production and utilisation of forest potential.

Growing stock, increment and cut

According to the data of forest management plans by the Slovenia Forest Service, the growing stock of Slovenian forests amounts to 327,458,525 cubic metres or 276.08 cubic metres per hectare. The share of growing stock of coniferous trees is 46.50 %, of deciduous trees
53.50 %. In Slovenian forests there is an annual increment of 7,985,256 cubic metres of wood or 6.74 cubic metres per hectare.
In recent years the cut in Slovenian forests has totalled to 3.7 million m3 of trees annually, 60 % of which have been conifers and 40 % deciduous trees. The cut falls behind the possible one according to forest management plans and it amounts to 70 % of it and 40 % of current increment.

Disruptions endangering Slovenian forests

In addition to damage caused by weather (wind, sleet, snow), Slovenian forests have lately been endangered mostly by insects (mainly by bark beetles) that are the most common reason for sanitary cut (37 % of sanitary cut). On average sanitary cut amounts to a third of the entire cut and in different years it ranges between 19 % and 45 % of the total cut. Such a situation reduces the share of necessary tending cut, thus making planned forest management difficult and at the same time it weakens the bio-ecological stability of forests.

Slovenian forest in figures

Forest area:            1 186 104 ha
Forestation:            58.5 %
Growing stock:            327 458 525 m3 (276.08 m3/ha)
Annual increment:        7 985 256 m3 (6.74 m3/ha)
Possible cut:            5 126 609 m3
Total annual cut:        3 740 191 m3
Coniferous trees:        1 853 772 m3
Deciduous trees:        1 520 419 m3
Realised cut represents        70 % of possible cut.
Length of forest roads:        12 624 km
Length of forest borders:     ca 115 000 km

Changes in the forest area in Slovenia in the period 1875-2003