Forest Ecology

What will you study

The structure of the subjects of the study plan as well as other activities of the doctoral student corresponds to the description of the study field. Forest ecology, also previously called the science of the forest environment, is a vast field dealing with the study of relationships and communities of organisms in the forest. Forest ecology is therefore an integrated field of study that studies the forest ecosystem, the ecological foundations of its production and sustainability, where it builds on knowledge from Geology, Bioclimatology, Soil Science, Botany, Physiology and ecophysiology of forest trees, Geobiocenology and typology of forest communities, which it further and scientifically investigates and deepens. The subjects of the study program are structured in such a way as to cover all these areas and enable the acquisition of a transdisciplinary and integrated view of the mechanisms that shape the biological diversity of forests at all its levels (Ecopedology, Vegetation Ecology, Phytogeography and historical variability of forest ecosystems, Animal Ecology). This area is followed by a set of subjects focused on forest communities and their natural and anthropogenic disturbances (Pathophysiology of forest trees, Global climate change, Bioclimatological and ecophysiological aspects of disturbance ecology, Laws of forest growth and production, Analysis and modeling of forest ecosystems, Natural forest ecosystems, their structure and methodological procedures for their research, Support for spatial decision-making in forest landscapes). The final outcome is the application of these principles to modern Forest Protection (Integrated forest and ecosystem protection, Forest ecology, Activation of harmful factors and implementation of countermeasures, Nature and ecosystem protection, Landscape ecology). The set of mandatory or optional courses includes: Compulsory elective courses include courses focused on general methodological aspects, as well as data processing and their spatial interpretation (Methodology of scientific work, Multivariate statistical methods and geostatistics, Geoinformatics,) and courses expanding the general basis of the field (selection from the Catalogue of courses of the Faculty of Medicine and the University of Ljubljana). 

Application

A graduate of the third level of doctoral studies in the field of forest protection, the study program forest ecology will acquire the ability and readiness for independent creative, research and scientific activity in the field of multidisciplinary analysis of forest ecosystems based on the acquisition of the latest knowledge of forest environment biogeochemistry, forest genetics and ecophysiology, forest ecology, as well as biogeography and the study of historical variability of forest ecosystems and landscapes, as well as the subsequent synthesis of knowledge of the theory and practice of forest protection and management as complex and adaptive ecosystems. He/She is proficient in scientific research and monitoring methods applicable in ecologically oriented forestry. Emphasis is placed on the ecosystem and interdisciplinary approach to understanding the forest ecosystem. He/She is able to independently investigate the processes taking place in forest ecosystems, independently classify natural conditions, forest communities, monitor biodiversity changes at all hierarchical levels, as well as derive recommendations for the sustainable use of forest ecosystems, methods of conservation short-term, long-term and spatial prognostication, develop measures for integrated forest protection and adjustments to the resilience potential of forest ecosystems. Graduates of the Forest Protection study field, Forest Ecology study program are qualified to hold positions in several areas - specialist or manager in forestry production, arboriculture and municipal forestry, specialist or manager in forest management (phytocenological and ecological survey, monitoring of forest health), manager in the state forestry administration, specialist or manager in the field of nature protection or environmental management, national parks and other levels of protected areas, university or secondary school teacher or scientific researcher in a specific specialization of the field.