The master's thesis deals with the condition of urban forests in Slovenia from different aspects. The first part deals with the recognition of functions of urban forests in strategic development documents and in the legislation from the fields of spatial development, nature conservation and forestry. The second, the larger part of the research, represents the comparative analysis of the urban forests of the six largest Slovenian cities: Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Kranj, Velenje and Novo mesto. The condition of the urban forests of these cities was estimated from the views of some elements of biodiversity, ownership structure and legal status. Besides, the analysis of the presence and meaning of forests in urban environment was carried out. The role of the urban forests in strategic documents is relatively well recognized although these are mostly discussed in the context of green areas or urban green systems. The urban forest ecosystems are from the aspects of tree composition,structure of development phases and biodiversity relatively well preserved and comparable to the forests on a local and regional level. The main difference is highlighted by the emphasized social roles and functions but their economic aspect is less expressed. The forest share of the urban areas is significantly lower than the local and regional level. The area of forests per inhabitant is in the urban areas of the selected cities from 3 to 30 times lower than the Slovenian average. The ownership structure of the urban forests is unfavourable because of the predominance of fragmented private forests. In the last decade municipalities are beginning to recognize the meaning of urban forests. However, with few exceptions, they do not manage them with adjustments and they do not think long-term. Nevertheless, the urban forests still represent the least modified natural environment in the immediate vicinity of dwellings of the increasing number of inhabitants. They offer good opportunities for education and awareness of the public. Therefore, in the future they can be an important carrier of shaping the relationship to nature and nature values.
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