In Slovenia, the National Forest Inventory (NFI) is used to monitor the state and development of forests at the national level. In this paper, we analysed the diversity of tree and shrub species and assessed the presence of non-native tree species in Slovenian forests. According to the literature, Slovenia hosts 71 autochthonous tree species, of which 60 were found among the trees measured on the 2 x 2 km NFI density plot grid. The highest average number of trees and shrubs, as well as the Shannon-Wiener index of species diversity, were observed in sample plots located in the Pre-Alpine Ecological Region (H’ = 0.85), while the lowest values were found in the Alpine Ecological Region (H’ = 0.58). The total growing stock of trees and shrubs in Slovenia is 330.7 m3/ha ± 2.1%, with the growing stock of small trees and shrubs (less than 10 cm DBH for trees and shrubs) estimated at 9.7 m3/ha ± 5.9%. Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) (31.9%) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) (28.2%) dominate the growing stock of tree and shrub species, while common hazel (Corylus avellana) (85.0%) represents the highest proportion of shrub species. Ten different non-native tree species were identified across 138 NFI plots, with the highest distributions in the Sub-Mediterranean and Pre-Pannonian Ecological Regions. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) dominates the growing stock of non-native tree species. Among small trees (those with a DBH of less than 10 cm), common beech represents 32.4%, with Norway spruce and manna ash (Fraxinus ornus) each contributing more than 10.0%. The growing stock of small shrub species (shrubs with a DBH of less than 10 cm) is dominated by common hazel (Corylus avellana) with 78.3%, while more than 2% is also represented by cornel (Cornus mas), old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba) and elderberry (Sambucus nigra). The results show that the combination of a panel system, a large number of sample plots (3027) and an improved coding system enabled the first comprehensive and objective assessment of tree and shrub species diversity, as well as the presence of non-native species in Slovenian forests.

Changing environmental conditions, disturbances, and escalating demands for forest ecosystem services require foresters to restore present forestlands with new forest generations that will exhibit ecological integrity, diversity, high adaptive capacity, and the ability to provide essential ecosystem services. Establishing such forests requires careful consideration of the forest landscape and site dynamics. In pursuit of these requirements, we developed a novel framework that enables the restoration of forest sites and promotes the desired features of the forest complex at the same time. This framework was designed with the methods of system engineering and was organized in the same way as the forest planning process. It was tested in the habitat type of Illyrian Fagus sylvatica forests belonging to the Natura 2000 network. The environmental, vegetation, and site conditions were investigated via field inspections, available forest management plans, and simple GIS analyses. Additionally, we established a seminatural stand composed of European beech, sessile oak, sycamore maple, silver fir, and some wild fruit tree species. The survival of planted species was assessed using census and simple random sampling, the performance of provenances by Student’s test, while microhabitat factors were explored by a one-way ANOVA. The survival rate of key species was estimated to be 55.6%, while that of fruit species was estimated to be 94.5%. Our framework demonstrated satisfactory performance and contained sufficient benchmarks to facilitate consistent decision-making. In the discussion, we elucidate the framework’s primary features and attributes of the mixed stand, where we also expose some open issues to be addressed in the future.

The article presents the process of designing and testing an ecosystem-based governance model (EBGM). The EBGM is an innovative and highly participatory approach to addressing management challenges in protected areas. The implementation of the EBGM makes it possible to define a management approach that seeks to balance the interests of various stakeholders, ensure the long-term availability of ecosystem services, and meet the conservation goals of nature protection in important areas. The study focused on Natura 2000 sites affected by climate change (altered precipitation patterns, higher temperatures, more frequent natural disturbances, the spread of invasive alien species, etc.) while also facing management challenges (conflicting stakeholder interests, lack of management capacity, preparation of management plans, etc.). The EBGM consists of six elements, representing phases in the search for shared governance solutions. It incorporates seven fundamental principles and three key management dimensions. The model was developed iteratively and tested in practice through two participatory workshops involving key stakeholders of the Rački ribniki–Požeg Landscape Park, which, at the time of the study, was undergoing a revision of its protection act and the preparation of a management plan. The outcomes of testing the EBGM included the establishment of a stakeholder network, an assessment of the park’s importance for nature conservation and provision of ecosystem services, an evaluation of past and future development trends, and the delineation of management zones for the entire area of the park. The EBGM is sufficiently flexible to be applied in other contexts and under different ecosystem management regimes.

We analysed basic demographic indicators (population size, population density) and selected landscape indicators (forest cover, number of forest patches, area of the largest forest patch, share of core areas in the forest) in the Karst landscapes of Inner Slovenia, their changes over four decades and the correlations between them. Using the Pearson correlation coefficient, we determined multiple statistically significant correlations between demographic and landscape indicators. In areas with higher population density, the share of forest has been significantly lower in both studied years. As expected, in areas with a higher share of forest, the share of core forest and the largest forest patches area are larger.

Ecosystem services (ES) are closely linked to nature-based solutions, which can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change or provide society with direct tangible and intangible benefits. In the context of a changing climate, it is essential to preserve these services despite increasing disturbances. In this study, we analysed changes in the structure and composition of the Jelovica forest complex (NW Slovenia) over the past two decades and assessed the provision of key regulating forest ES—specifically, soil erosion control, regulation of surface and groundwater flows, and regional climate regulation. The area has historically seen the artificial promotion of Norway spruce and, in recent decades, has been increasingly affected by large-scale disturbances and bark beetle outbreaks. We examined how these climate-related disturbances have influenced the availability of regulating ES. Over the past twenty years, the share of spruce in the growing stock in the Jelovica area decreased from 67% to 62%. We compared structural and compositional changes between two periods, 2001–2009 and 2015–2023, based on available forest management data. In both periods, mature stands were the dominant developmental stage. In the northwestern part of the Jelovica plateau, where extensive sanitary felling was carried out, the proportion of sapling stands increased significantly—unlike in other parts of the plateau. Areas affected by extensive sanitary felling exhibited statistically significantly lower evapotranspiration and reduced soil erosion control capacity, as well as higher levels of groundwater recharge, compared to other areas.