Homepage

LČR is the most important company in the Czech Republic that bears responsibility for the cultural landscape of which forests form a major part. LČR manages approx. 1.2m hectares, i.e. 46% of all Czech forests.

Applied principles of sustainable forest management mean providing for ongoing balance between economic, ecological and social requirements for forests.  

In order to provide for such balance, the following measures are preferentially adopted when managing forests:  

• Continuous fulfilment of all required forest functions incl. production of high-quality timber;
• Maintaining and increasing forest quality and variability by supporting biodiversity, creating mixed forests and increasing the share of endangered forest tree species;
• Permanent preparation of sites and forest stands with suitable species, age and genetics for natural forest regeneration;
• Increasing the share of natural forest regeneration and regenerating stands artificially using high-quality reproductive material of forest tree species;
• Preferring biological amelioration by using amelioration tree species;
• Reducing the share of environment-unfriendly chemicals and materials in forests;
• Prefer environment-friendly technologies when using machinery in forests;
• Creating conditions suitable for conservation of protected biotopes or valuable plants and animals and conservation of special biotopes (wetlands, peatbogs, etc.);
• Conservation of bird population by supporting suitable nesting environment and by placing nesting boxes in forests;
• Managing forest edges in a close-to-nature way;
• Achieving balance between game and forest.

Forests managed in line with the principles above provide for permanent and balanced existence of large number of microorganisms, plants and animals that can hardly find suitable living environment out of forests. In parallel, they allow commercial use of a sustainable renewable source of domestic strategic raw material – timber; they also fulfil a wide range of functions important for the society.

Programme of sustainable management                                                          

In 2015, LČR issued the “Programme of Sustainable Forest Management” that represents the basic framework for managing individual forest parts in different ways according to site conditions and in line with sustainable development. 

Forest Management Planning  

The goal of forest management planning is to provide permanent and even forest yield. The tool for providing permanent forest yield is the long term management consideration – forest management plan.

Forest management plans (FMP) are basically periodical forest inventories carried out every 10 years that define the limits of forest use by the means of binding parameters. Hence, forest management plans tell us what grows in forests, in what amounts and what can be done with it. As for FMP for state-owned forests, the following binding parameters are set:

• Maximum total harvest that cannot be exceeded;
• Minimum area of imminent thinning in forest stand under 40 years of age;
• Minimum share of amelioration and pioneering tree species.

As for FMPs for LČR, they are drafted by an entity selected in a public procurement.

Reproduction material

In the Czech Republic, LČR belongs to the biggest clients in relation to saplings purchased from producers. In order to guarantee genetically suitable saplings and seedlings, LČR provides for collecting seeds mainly from own high-quality sources of tree species reproduction material.

A whole variety of services is provided by a specialised Seed Operation in Týniště nad Orlicí; this operation provides its services to both LČR and other forest owners.

Demonstration sites

LČR defines in state-owned forests demonstration sites where it shows to foresters and laic public new management ways for reaching a certain management goal and in parallel fulfilling other forest functions. There is an excursion guide for each demonstration site.

Individual demonstration sites are described in the guides below:

• Poněšice – Harmony between gene pool ad game preserve ;
• Červený hrádek – Shelter wood system for transformation of monocultures;
• Vlára – Natural beech management;
• Novohradské hvozdy – Model management of mountain forests;
• Boubín – Model management of mountain forests;
• Týniště nad Orlicí – Treating, storing and preparing seeds of forest tree species;
• Koliba – Shelter wood system in suburban forest;
• Boršov – Forest management focusing on commercial and public forest functions.