A new information platform for everyone interested in Czech and global forests and forestry has been launched. The new PROLES portal was created by experts from the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture. It focuses on the latest knowledge about risks facing forests, such as windstorms, pests, fires and invasive species, as well as ways to address them.
The PROLES portal (www.prolesy.org) offers maps, graphs, expert and popular science articles, recommendations for forestry practice and public administration, and translations of international strategic materials related to forests and forestry. It also includes a map application that provides access to comprehensive data on forest damage in the Czech Republic after 2000. The portal is the result of cooperation between the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic.
Damage to European forests has been steadily increasing since the mid-20th Century, with this growth accelerating significantly over the past decade. We are seeing more frequent and intense droughts and heatwaves, outbreaks of pests and an increase in large-scale forest fires. The Czech Republic has become one of the epicentres of these developments. In response, the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (FFWS CZU) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic (MoA) have established a strategic partnership to improve the Czech forestry´s preparedness to address growing risks.
One of the main results of this cooperation is the PROLES portal (https://www.prolesy.org/), which contains translations of various strategic materials from international initiatives such as Forest Europe and institutions such as the European Forest Institute — ranging from forecasts of forest development in the 21st Century and impacts on the timber market to adaptation strategies.
The map application provides access to data on forest damage in the Czech Republic after 2000 at the district level, including forecasts of bark beetle damage development and assessments of forest condition using remote sensing data. The portal is aimed at forest owners, public administration, students and the wider public. It is continuously updated, with additional content and functionalities being developed.
“Czech forests and forestry are facing a combination of pressures for which they are not prepared. The PROLES portal aims to provide access to the latest and rapidly evolving knowledge that will help us prepare for these developments,” says Professor Tomáš Hlásny from FFWS CZU, the portal coordinator.
“The cooperation between FFWS CZU and the Ministry of Agriculture is coordinated with the activities of the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the international FoRISK initiative, which focuses on improving risk management in European forests. Thanks to FFWS CZU’s long-term involvement in these activities, the Czech Republic is among the countries whose experience helps shape European recommendations for adapting forests to climate change and other growing risks. The PROLES portal represents one of the tools for transferring the results of this cooperation into the Czech environment,” says Professor Róbert Marušák, Dean of FFWS CZU.