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Forest protection

Forest protection in the past was mostly oriented towards fighting bark beetles and some diseases of forest trees such as Chestnut Blight (Cryphonectria parasitica). In the last decades the understanding of forest protection, together with the holistic view on forests, has extended to forestry as a whole. At planning measures in the forest, protection of forests is integrated in the very measure, since prevention is the cheapest and most effective protection. Of course we have not disregarded the classical forms of protection such as fighting harmful insects and diseases. On the contrary, due to climatic changes and globalization of timber and plant trade, Slovenian forests have not been spared by organisms that once were not important or did not even exist in Slovenian or European forests, but have now multiplied and started to cause damage. Forest protection and prevention planning also mean the introduction of new technologies of timber production or the improvement of the existing ones.

Realization of protective works

Realization of protective works in forests is, as other types of work, left to the forest owner. The exception are preventive protection works such as laying control bark beetle slot traps and putting up panels warning us about hazards of forest fires. These works are carried out by the Slovenia Forest Service within the scope of their regular job or by their contractors. Certainly forest owners are not left alone since protective works, as well as silvicultural works, are planned and directed by the Slovenia Forest Service. At the same time, the Slovenia Forest Service can, or better has to, impose urgent protective works on forest owners by a decree that is also followed by realization by another person if they are not performed at the stated time and as prescribed. The care for consistent and as easily as possible performed forest protection work also includes the purchase of materials needed for its realization. Within the framework of financing and co-financing investments in forests, all the materials needed for carrying out protective works are bought with the budget funds of the Republic of Slovenia, and on the basis of issued decrees and signed consignment notes they are delivered to the forest owner free of charge. For the timely and quality realization of protective work, forest owners are also co-financed, which depends on the size of the estate, the forest owner’s domicile, on emphasized forest functions and the type of performed work.

The main emphases

The main emphases on forest protection are as follows:

– protection against insects,

– protection against forest tree diseases,

– protection against fires,

– protection against herbivores,

– other protection (such as protection against erosion and damage done to forest trees as a result of work in the forest).


At protecting forests against insects, far and away the most important is the fight against bark beetles on spruce and fir.

Fire protection is of special importance in Slovenia. The Karst region, where there are as many as 90 % of all fires in the natural environment in Slovenia, was completely bare until 150 years ago. Owing to persistent and professional work Karst managed to be afforested, so nowadays its forest cover is higher than 50 %. Therefore the damage caused by forest fires is much greater than just the damage because of destroyed wood mass and intervention costs.

Protection against herbivores is mostly limited to protection of young forests which, in areas with large numbers of herbivorous deer, are often too exposed to damage caused by nibbling, browsing, bark peeling and rubbing.