Landscape Management and Engineering

The Forest Ecology doctoral programme focuses on the interrelationships between organisms and abiotic factors and disturbances in forest ecosystems. The programme emphasises a systemic approach that is important for understanding the mechanisms affecting the spatial distribution of organisms, population dynamics, and energy and matter flows and transformation. The forest is thus understood not only as a wood producer, but also as an ecosystem able to maintain high levels of biodiversity, provide protective soil functions etc.

The programme focuses on basic and applied research in the field of phytopathology, woody species protection and mycology, with emphasis placed on both forest ecosystems and woody species growing outside the forest. It mainly involves research, education and scientific training on issues relating to the pathogens, saprotrophs and endophytes of woody species, as well as the diversity of the mycobiota of forest ecosystems. Students will gain experience in applying standard microbiological and molecular biological methods.

Forest phytology is a discipline focused on the study of plant organisms inhabiting a forest ecosystem or its substitute biological community, in all biomes of the world where forests may occur. The subject of study is the structures of and interrelationships between plants, as well as their relationships with abiotic factors in forest ecosystems. At the faculty, emphasis is mainly placed on the study of woody plants, which are the dominant component of forest ecosystems.

In this programme, emphasis is placed on collecting and analysing dendrometric variables using ground and remote sensing methods, modelling forest growth and dynamics, studying the influence of habitat and climatic conditions, and subsequently on solving theoretical and practical problems, and their sub-disciplines. This field involves modern methods of data collection, the application of decision-support systems, mathematical modelling and growth simulators, and assessing the impact of harmful factors on forest production and management.

The degree programme expands students’ understanding of professional disciplines such as genetics and the breeding of woody forest plants, seed production, nursery maintenance, the establishment and cultivation of forest stands, the establishment and cultivation of woody vegetation or forests under specific conditions, intensive forest plantation management, agroforestry, and so forth. The programme emphasizes current issues in forestry and silviculture (choice of woody plants, natural regeneration, growth of woody plants, etc.).

Study programme is focused on the sustainable management of renewable natural resources (especially wood), the organization of the sector within the forestry-timber complex (including the microeconomic concept of the market mechanism in this complex), the evaluation of the profitability and effectiveness of specific measures in the management of natural resources, innovation, pricing, marketing, trade, management tools, industry competitiveness and, last but not least, sociology and management of regional development and international developme

This degree programme prepares students for professional careers in materials science with a focus on wood and wood-based materials, as well as in the experimental development of new wood-based materials and in the application of new knowledge about wood in products – structures, buildings, furniture, and so forth. The programme aims to build an understanding of the theoretical foundations of the field, develop skills in the experimental and computational techniques used in wood research, and provide advanced knowledge and skills.