The land of MENDELU has an area of 10,400 ha (of which 10,200 ha are PUPFL – land intended for the production function of the forest) and form a continuous complex directly adjacent to the northern edge of Brno and extending to the town of Blansko along both banks of the flowing river Svitava. The varied habitat conditions of the 1st to 4th (5th) forest vegetation stage (the 3rd LVS prevails), including floodplain forests south of Brno (in the Sokolnice Nature Reserve and in the Rajhrad Pheasant Reserve), well represent the conditions in the Czech Republic. Lower and middle habitats predominate. We farm with all domestic species of wood, among which beech, spruce, oak, larch and pine predominate, from species introduced mainly Douglas fir. The ratio of deciduous and coniferous tree species is 65:35. Highly valuable mixed stands of beech and larch are typical. You can find more detailed information on natural conditions here.

The main production of firewood takes place in three forests – Vranov u Brno, Habrůvka and Bílovice nad Svitavou. The organizational structure of each forest is always made up of the head of the forest (a total of 3), his deputy – a technician (a total of 3), foresters in individual sections (a total of 11 foresters and 12 sections – the South section is managed by a technician of the Bílovice forest) and workers in mining and cultivation activities. Support centers for forestry are forest nurseries, Olomučany sawmill and Adamov maintenance and service center with 2 towing sets. Sales and production of firewood, asset management, IT support, PR and a complete corporate strategy in forestry and HÚL are managed from the company’s headquarters in Křtiny.

Own forestry management is carried out in accordance with ours concept and valid forest management plan (current LHP for the decade 2023–2032). The annual amount of extraction, i.e. the balance sheet, amounts to approx. 74,000 m³ of wood. The annual total normal increase is 8.6 m³/ha with an average hectare of vegetation stock of 234 m³. We focus mainly on non-grazing forms of management and the creation of mixed stands with the greatest possible use of natural forest regeneration (this accounted for 57% of the extent of the first afforestation in the previous decade). We use artificial regeneration mainly when supplementing and diversifying natural regeneration or on clearings from random logging for the introduction of light-loving species. We bet around 200 thousand every year. seedlings and dozens of types of trees – mostly oaks, beeches, maples, larches, Douglas firs and others, all in mixtures. We also work with more rare domestic deciduous trees such as cherry or mountain ash or conifers such as yew. We also test drought-resistant species, such as southern species of oak, chestnut or Turkish hazel. We obtain seed for growing seedlings from our own recognized sources of reproductive material. Timber from our forests, including saw products, comes from sustainable and environmentally friendly management and is certified under both FSC and PEFC. Production is carried out by our own employees and our own technology, or by suppliers. Mendel University in Brno is defined as a public contracting authority according to Act No. 134/2016 Coll., on public procurement. For this reason, supply activities must compete. We conduct tenders in the form of a dynamic purchasing system and strive to award orders with quarterly fulfillment in order to use local suppliers.

Hunting is carried out under its own management in two forest hunting grounds – ŠLP Křtiny, Hády, and two purpose-built facilities – the Sokolnice nature reserve and the Rajhrad pheasant reserve. Roe deer, mouflon, red deer, black deer, hare and pheasant are the norm for hunting in ŠLP Křtiny. Dane and Dybowski’s sika deer are also in the reserve. In the pheasant farm, we focus on semi-wild breeding of common pheasants. In addition to the staff, students and employees of MENDELU also hunt in the hunts. Another group are external hunting guests, to whom we provide permits for a fee. For those interested, we also provide one-time fee hunts. Our venison from colorful forests is always fresh and of high quality. Management of hunting and the exercise of hunting rights in our own direction enables us to fulfill our goals in forest management with sustainable game stocks. In this context, we monitor the state of forest regeneration on a permanent network of areas once every 2 years as one of the bases for drawing up a hunting plan.

In addition to our main mission in research and teaching, we also respect other interests in forest management, e.g. in nature conservation. More than a third of the territory belongs to the Moravian Karst PLA, and our close-to-nature forest management is the way to fulfill forestry and conservation interests. Finally, 9% of the forests are non-intervention reserves, where we go to learn how nature itself works and which were mainly established in the 1970s on the initiative of the owner. When managing, we also take into account the proximity of the Brno agglomeration and thus the increased pressure on recreation in the forests. We communicate our activities with the public in a variety of ways, most often using the web and social networks, we write articles in municipal newsletters, we establish educational trails – e.g. the Karel Morávek Footpath, etc. Another activity is education directly in the forests, which we implement in the form of forest pedagogy or, for example, joint events with residents of municipalities located on the territory of ŠLP. At the same time, we do not forget about forest aesthetics. As part of the unique Lesnické Slavín, we take care of an extensive network of ornamental trees, wells and monuments. Every year we deliver the light of Christmas and the scent of forests in the form of Christmas trees to cities and trees to homes. The beauty of our forests has also inspired many artists. The book Forests, Waters and Slopes by S. K. Neumann, a citizen of Bílovice, is proof of this.