Climate change

Climate change significantly affects forests and the conditions for sustainable forest management. Its most visible impacts are the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Over the past decade, Slovenian forests have experienced several such events.

In 2014, more than half of Slovenia's forests were damaged by a catastrophic ice storm, which affected over 9 million cubic meters of wood-making it the most severe natural disaster ever recorded in Slovenian forests. At the end of 2017, an extensive windthrow event caused the felling of approximately 3 million cubic meters of timber. During the extremely hot and dry summer of 2022, Slovenia witnessed its largest forest fire to date, which burned 2,900 hectares of forest in the Karst region. Extraordinary rainfall in 2023 followed severe summer storms with strong winds, leading to the felling of 1.3 million cubic meters of timber. Heavy rains caused floods and triggered numerous landslides, with significant damage to forest infrastructure, particularly forest roads.

Extreme weather events are often followed by outbreaks of forest diseases and pests, primarily due to weakened and damaged coniferous wood left in forests for extended periods. In Slovenia, this has led to a surge in bark beetle infestations, particularly spruce bark beetles. After the 2014 ice storm, 7 million cubic meters of timber were harvested in 2015, 2016, and 2017 due to bark beetle damage. Similarly, after the 2017 windthrow, over 2 million cubic meters were felled in 2018 and 2019.

Between 2014 and 2023, natural disasters and bark beetle infestations accounted for the felling of 24 million cubic meters of timber, representing nearly half (46%) of all harvested wood in Slovenia during this period.

Image: Timber harvest by main sanitary reasons and the share of sanitary harvest in total annual harvest (2001–2023). Click on legend elements (e.g., Insects) to select data for display.

Climate change also influences processes within forest ecosystems, leading to changes in their structure and developmental dynamics, tree growth and distribution, the emergence of non-native (invasive) species, and more. While these changes are less dramatic, they are equally significant.

Through forest management plans, forestry professionals incorporate mechanisms for mitigating and adapting to climate change into forest management practices. Regional forest management plans for the 2021–2030 period ([LINK TO COMPENDIUM]) ensure carbon sequestration in line with Slovenia’s international commitments while actively managing forests to enhance their resilience to climate change. Most mitigation and adaptation measures are embedded in sustainable forest management practices, including:

• Promoting tree species composition and forest structures adapted to site conditions and climate change.
• Setting limits on the maximum allowable exploitation of forests.
• Adjusting production cycles in forests.
• Preserving biodiversity at ecosystem, species, and genetic levels.

More detailed strategies for mitigation and adaptation have been developed within the Forests for the Future project, including:

• Recommendations for integrating mitigation and adaptation measures into national forestry and climate policies and legislation ([LINK]).
• Measures for optimizing carbon sequestration in forests and financing these initiatives ([LINK]).