The land of MENDELU covers an area of 10,400 ha (of which 10,200 ha are PUPFL – land intended for the productive 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 (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. High value mixed stands of beech and larch are typical. More detailed information on natural conditions can be found 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 representative – 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. Forest nurseries, Olomučany sawmill and the Adamov maintenance and service center with 2 towing sets are the support centers for forestry. 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.

Our own forest management takes place in accordance with our concept and the valid forest management plan (current LHP for the decade 2023-2032). The annual amount of extraction, i.e. the balanced employment, amounts to approx. 74,000 m³ of wood material. 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 to complement and diversify natural regeneration or on clearings from random logging to introduce light-loving species. We bet around 200 thousand every year. seedlings and dozens of species 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 cranesbill 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 FSC and PEFC certified. Production is carried out by our own employees and our own equipment, 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 tender through a dynamic purchasing system and aim to award contracts with quarterly fulfillment to utilize local suppliers.

Hunting is carried out under its own management in two forest hunting grounds – ŠLP Křtiny, Hády, and two purpose-built facilities – Sokolnice nature reserve and Rajhrad pheasant reserve. Roe deer, mouflon, red deer, black, small game hare and pheasant are the norm for hunting in ŠLP Křtiny. In the nature reserve, wildebeest and Dybowski’s sika deer. At the pheasant house, we focus on semi-wild breeding of common pheasants. Apart from the staff, students and employees of MENDELA also hunt in the hunts. Another group are external hunting guests, to whom we provide permits for a fee. We also provide one-time fee hunts for those interested. Our venison, coming from colorful forests, is always fresh and of high quality. The management of hunting and the performance of hunting law in our own direction allows 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, such as nature conservation. More than a third of the territory belongs to the Moravian Karst PLA, and our close-to-nature forestry 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 70s of the 20th century precisely 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 Karlo Morávek Footpath, etc. Another activity is education directly in the forests, which we implement in the form of forest pedagogy or perhaps 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 gardens, 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 Hills by Bílovice citizen S. K. Neumann is proof of this.