More than half of Slovenian territory is covered by forests, and we can therefore say that the forest is our most important ecosystem. It is connected with numerous roles and functions, that can, however, limit and exclude one another. That is why knowledge about this ecosystem, and especially the identification and understanding of the roles and functions of the forest, is an important element that enables sustainable management.
In the first part of the master thesis we have analyzed Valvasor’s identification of roles and functions of the forest through content analysis of the second, third and fourth book of Slava Vojvodine Kranjske. In doing so, we have discovered that we can recognize eleven of the seventeen different functions of the forest that the Law on Forests (1993) defines. These identified functions can be classified among production, ecological, as well as social functions of the forest, which shows the author’s broader perception of the forest. However, because of Valvasor’s exceptional intellect for that time, we cannot equate his perception to the perception of the rest of the population in the second half of the 17th century. Valvasor can also be praised for his exceptional identification of the diversity of Carniola forests. In the analyzed books we can identify 25 different species of woody plants, which the author mentions in various contexts. The most frequently mentioned woody plants are beech, pine, oak, chestnut and fir. In connection to the forest Valvasor also mentions 78 different species or groups of animals, that can be sorted into classes of arachnids, insects, snails, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Because of Valvasor’s mention of worms, we also formed a group of worms, that otherwise isn’t a taxonomic category. Based on the frequency of the different animal classes being mentioned we gathered, that Valvasor gives less importance to invertebrates than vertebrates. We have also concluded, that Valvasor does not think all vertebrates are important, assigning more importance to birds and animals, who we can connect with hunting or beautiful singing.
In the second part of the master thesis we have formed a lesson with the help of selected excerpts from the second, third and fourth book of Slava vojvodine Kranjske. The lesson is based on collaborative learning and through it, we can indentify the description, identification and importance of individual roles and functions of the forest for the students. This lesson was conducted in two classes of ninth grade students from the northwestern region of Slovenia. Through the content analysis of the student’s projects and group interviews we have discovered that students identify the dominantly present functions of forest appearing in the selected excerpts. The majority of the groups divided the identified functions into two broader categories. One of the categories usually presented the functions of the forest in connection to humans, while the other category included functions that were not human dependent. The groups of students identified the forming of oxygen and the provision of a habitat for animals as the two most important functions of the forest. They identified the recreational function, the touristic function, the aesthetic function, and the function of shadow forming as the least important functions.
Despite the fact that the students recognized the dominant functions of the forests from the selected excerpts, we can say that their knowledge of the functions and roles of the forest is poor. Each individual group only identified one, two or three additional functions of the forest. At the end of the lesson more than half of the students wrote down, that they have previously thought little of the importance of the forest and/or were not aware of so much of its functions and roles. That is why we suggest that the roles and functions of the forest are included into the teaching content of all Slovenian primary schools. Given the fact that forest ecosystems are the most frequent ecosystem in our surroundings, the Slovenian students especially need an in-depth knowledge of the forest ecosystems and connection between them and their life. The limited recognition of the functions and roles of the forest in the eyes of the population could lead to unsustainable decisions regarding forest management. In this case, the school has an opportunity to influence and form ecologically literate citizens and prevent this threat.
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