Our research team focuses on the development of robust, participatory and integrated approaches to the sustainable management of forested landscapes. We combine advanced forest and landscape modelling, multi-objective optimisation and decision-support methods to design management strategies capable of maintaining the long-term provision of multiple ecosystem services under changing environmental, climatic and socio-economic conditions.

A particular focus is placed on developing robust management plans that reconcile multiple, and potentially conflicting, demands on forest ecosystems. Our approaches aim to ensure a sustained and balanced provision of ecosystem services over defined planning horizons, while explicitly considering biodiversity conservation, ecological stability, forest resilience and long-term sustainability. We develop and apply optimisation approaches for assessing trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services and for identifying management pathways that maintain or enhance their provision across spatial and temporal scales.

An important component of our research concerns the identification, quantification and assessment of forest ecosystem services and the development of suitable indicators for their integration into forest and landscape planning. This includes biophysical assessment as well as economic valuation of ecosystem services and analysis of their relationships with biodiversity, ecosystem condition and management alternatives.

We also investigate economic and governance mechanisms that can support the practical implementation of sustainable landscape management. Particular attention is given to the design and assessment of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and other incentive-based mechanisms. Our objective is to identify effective and economically viable schemes that align the interests of forest owners, managers, beneficiaries and other stakeholders and provide long-term incentives for maintaining ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Within consortia, our team can contribute expertise in integrated forest landscape planning, forest and landscape modelling, multi-objective optimisation, decision-support systems, ecosystem-service indicators and valuation, biodiversity and ecological stability assessment, participatory planning, trade-off and scenario analysis, and the design of PES and other incentive mechanisms for sustainable and resilient forest management.

The Technical University in Zvolen (TUZVO), Slovakia, is a public higher education and research institution specialising in forestry, natural resources, wood sciences and environmental sciences. Its Faculty of Forestry provides multidisciplinary research expertise covering sustainable forest management, forest ecosystem resilience, biodiversity, ecosystem services and adaptation to environmental and climate change.

The Department of Forest Resources Planning and Informatics focuses on forest management planning, forest resource assessment, forest and landscape modelling, multi-objective optimisation, decision-support methods and information technologies in forestry. The Department combines quantitative, spatial, ecological and socio-economic approaches to address complex forest management problems under multiple objectives and uncertainty. Its expertise supports the development of robust and participatory management strategies aimed at balancing ecosystem-service provision, biodiversity conservation, ecological stability and the long-term economic viability of forest management.