Developing an integrative management plan for urban and peri-urban forests : a case study of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Simončič, Tina (author), Kobe, Jurij (author), Harmel, Matjaž (author), Hostnik, Robert (author), Bončina, Andrej (author)

Many cities worldwide have adopted management strategies for urban forests, typically focusing on forest parks, street trees and park trees. However, planning that concentrates on natural urban forest areas remains scarce. This study introduces an advanced planning framework for the integrative management of natural urban forests and applies it to Ljubljana's urban forests (2151 ha). The framework consists of an initiation phase and a six-step planning procedure. Through a comprehensive process lasting 20 months, with strong stakeholder involvement and political support, we developed a strategic plan for Ljubljana’s entire urban forest area and an operational plan for a specific block within this area. The approach employs the integrative management of forest stands within or near the city, incorporating harmonised activities in silviculture, recreation, protection, harvesting and communication. This planning method aims to bridge the gap between traditional forest management planning and urban green infrastructure planning.

• Language: English
• Keywords: urban forest, strategic plan, operational plan, participation, URBforDAN project
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Author Accepted Manuscript
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 11 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 101, art. 128526
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-166738
• UDC: 630*91:630*27
• ISSN on article: 1610-8167
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128526
• COBISS.SI-ID: 211390467
• Publication date in RUL: 23.01.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Urban forestry & urban greening
• Shortened title: Urban for. urban green.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1610-8167
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5609894

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: urbani gozdovi, strateški načrt, operativni načrt, sodelovanje javnosti, projekt URBforDAN

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: Interreg, Danube Transnational Programme
• Acronym: URBforDAN

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P4-0059
• Name: Gozd, gozdarstvo in obnovljivi gozdni viri