RESEARCH TOPIC
Food, water, climate regulation and space to unwind
Forest ecosystem services are the benefits that forests provide to people. Provisioning services include timber, mushrooms, berries and game meat. Regulating services help store carbon, cool the landscape, retain and filter water, and protect soil from erosion. Cultural services offer recreation, learning and inspiration. These benefits depend on supporting processes, such as soil formation and nutrient cycling, and on the diversity of forest life.
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STORIES IN THIS TOPIC
Forest ecosystem services
Around 340 to 343 cubic metres of living timber per hectare. That was the narrow range of adjusted estimates across three Czech forest groups classified by conservation designation. No statistically significant difference in standing volume was detected. Clearer differences emerged in broadleaf representation and standing deadwood occurrence.
Forest ecosystem services
Between 2015 and 2024, recorded forest land expanded by 14,746 hectares while standing timber volume fell by 13.2 million cubic metres. Two figures from the Czech forestry reports offer different perspectives on a changing forest.
Forest ecosystem services
Between 2015 and 2024, the recorded area of broadleaved trees increased by 111,665 hectares, while Norway spruce lost 134,201 hectares. The Czech forestry reports reveal a gradual change in the composition of the country's forests.
Forest ecosystem services
Streams, reservoirs and flood repairs have a place in the forest accounts. Ten Green Reports reveal CZK 6.316 billion in water management expenditure by Forests of the Czech Republic and how the work was financed.
Forest ecosystem services
Maintained paths, benches and waste collection all have a cost. A study of the municipal forests of Hradec Králové shows how recreation was funded in 2013–2019 and why the enterprise’s other sources of income matter.
Forest ecosystem services
Relaxation, clean air and water retention led the priorities of Czech respondents. Riedl, Němec and colleagues connect public expectations with practical forest planning.
Forest ecosystem services
A basket of mushrooms, water soaking into the soil and a walk in the shade reveal different forest benefits. This introduction to ecosystem services connects everyday experience with research on Czech households and public perceptions.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Forests
Riedl, M., Němec, M., Jarský, V., & Sloup, R. (2026). Supply, Trade and Consumption of Major Forest Foods in Czechia: Mushrooms, Forest Fruits and Game Meat. Forests, 17(7), 802. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17070802
DOI 10.3390/f17070802Sustainable Development
Purwestri, R. C., Riedl, M., Němec, M., Jarský, V., Hájek, M., & Dudík, R. (2026). Wild Herb Foraging and Sustainable Development: Links Between Ecosystem Services, Cultural Practices, and Well-Being in Czech Forest Landscapes. Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.71022
DOI 10.1002/sd.71022Environmental Sciences Europe
Riedl, M., Němec, M., Sarvašová, Z., Jarský, V., & Sedliak, M. (2026). Translating forest ecosystem-service interactions into management action: a pathway-based framework illustrated in Czechia and Slovakia. Environmental Sciences Europe. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-026-01544-z
DOI 10.1186/s12302-026-01544-zJournal of Forest Science
Němec, M., Dudík, R., & Sloup, R. (2026). Area-based nature protection and stand attributes for assessing economic impacts on forest owners. Journal of Forest Science, 72(10), 548-562. https://doi.org/10.17221/85/2026-JFS
DOI 10.17221/85/2026-JFSEnvironmental Sciences Europe
Purwestri, R. C., Palátová, P., Hájek, M., Dudík, R., Jarský, V., & Riedl, M. (2023). Public perception of the performance of Czech forest ecosystem services. Environmental Sciences Europe, 35, 89. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-023-00802-8
DOI 10.1186/s12302-023-00802-8European Journal of Forest Research
Hochmalová, M., Purwestri, R. C., Yongfeng, J., Jarský, V., Riedl, M., Yuanyong, D., & Hájek, M. (2022). Demand for forest ecosystem services: a comparison study in selected areas in the Czech Republic and China. European Journal of Forest Research, 141(5), 867–886. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-022-01478-0
DOI 10.1007/s10342-022-01478-0Forests
Jůza, R., Jarský, V., Riedl, M., Zahradník, D., & Šišák, L. (2021). Possibilities for Harmonisation between Recreation Services and Their Production within the Forest Sector—A Case Study of Municipal Forest Enterprise Hradec Králové (CZ). Forests, 12(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010013
DOI 10.3390/f12010013ABOUT THE RESEARCH
This portal explains research on forest ecosystem services and economics at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. It connects everyday experience with original scientific studies.
Co-author of the featured studies
RNDr. Marcel Riedl, CSc.
Scientific guarantor
Ing. et Ing. Martin Němec, Ph.D.
