Forest Risk Research Centre

Our home is the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at CZU Prague. We are part of a strong academic community where people, ideas, and expertise come together to understand the challenges facing forests, forestry, and society.

New paper out!

AI advances improve mapping of disturbed forests.
A new study shows how Google’s AlphaEarth Foundations model improves the accuracy of large-scale mapping of forest recovery after disturbance.

A new Horizon Europe project

We have started a new Horizon Europe project NATURISE. In the next four years, we will work on improving nature conservation across Europe by developing new datasets, indicators, models, and decision-support tools.

LEARN MORE

New interview

One of the world’s most destructive forest pests has now been detected in the EU. Andrew Liebhold explains what Europe can learn from North America — and what can still be done to slow its spread and reduce its impacts.

READ THE INTERVIEW

Discover PROLES

A web portal bridging forest science, management, and policymaking. It delivers modern digital tools for forest risk management and builds trust between research and practice, offering articles, policy briefs, news, risk analyses, maps, and charts. PROLES is our key knowledge transfer channel.

VISIT PROLES

New paper out!

AI advances improve mapping of disturbed forests.
A new study shows how Google’s AlphaEarth Foundations model improves the accuracy of large-scale mapping of forest recovery after disturbance.

A new Horizon Europe project

LEARN MORE

New interview

READ THE INTERVIEW

Discover PROLES

VISIT PROLES

About Us

We aim to understand how forests are changing globally and in Europe, and to develop new ideas for their management.

We are passionate about technology – we love talking about and working with ecosystem models, remote sensing, AI, large datasets, drones, scanners, and cameras. Our core research areas include forest disturbance ecology and management, ecosystem resilience, forest carbon cycles, and biological invasions.

Our research shapes forestry, biosecurity, and related policies in the Czech Republic and across Europe. Through our partners – including the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, Forest Europe, the European Forest Institute, EFSA, and EPPO – we translate scientific evidence into recommendations, risk assessments, and management strategies that reach diverse decision-makers.

We do not stay locked in a bubble of data and technology – we engage with foresters, policymakers, and the public to bring our knowledge into practice and policy.

- Prof. Tomáš Hlásny, Head of the Forest Risk Research Centre

EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH

Finally, FRRC is a place where doctoral students can launch their careers. We pay the utmost attention to quality mentorship and supervision. Our international team is not only scientifically integrative but also culturally enriching – there are not many research teams where you can enjoy foods from so many different countries.

Forest Risks

Understanding the risks reshaping forests

Drought & Heat Stress

Rising temperatures, more frequent droughts and prolonged heat stress are changing the conditions in which forests grow.

They can reduce tree growth, weaken natural defence mechanisms and increase mortality, while also making forests more vulnerable to pests, fires and other disturbances.

Understanding how forests respond to these pressures is essential for anticipating future risks and developing management strategies that support long-term resilience.

Wildfires

Hotter and drier conditions are increasing wildfire risk in many forest regions and are changing where and when severe fires may occur.

Wildfires can rapidly alter forest structure, carbon stocks, biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, while recovery may take decades.

Understanding fire risk and its interactions with climate, vegetation and other disturbances can support better preparedness, prevention and post-disturbance management.

Windstorms

Windstorms are among the major natural disturbances affecting forests and can cause extensive damage over large areas within a very short time.

Their impacts depend on forest structure, species composition, site conditions and management history, and wind damage can also trigger further disturbances, including bark beetle outbreaks.

We study the factors that influence forest vulnerability and the processes that shape recovery after wind disturbance.

Biological Invasions

Non-native insects, pathogens and plants are increasingly reshaping forest ecosystems across the world. They can alter forest composition and ecosystem functioning, threaten biodiversity and generate substantial economic and societal costs.

Our research examines how invasive species are introduced, establish and spread, what determines their impacts, and which strategies – from biosecurity and early detection to eradication and management – can help reduce future risks.

Bark Beetles & Other Forest Pests

Forest pests can cause extensive tree mortality, disrupt timber production and rapidly transform entire landscapes.

Their dynamics are strongly influenced by climate, forest structure and management, and warmer and drier conditions can accelerate outbreaks and weaken host trees at the same time.

Our research examines how pest populations develop, how outbreaks spread and which monitoring, prevention and management approaches can reduce their impacts.

Compound & Cascading Disturbances

Forest risks rarely act in isolation. Drought can weaken trees and increase their susceptibility to pests, wind damage can create conditions for bark beetle outbreaks, and disturbances can alter the likelihood and severity of subsequent events.

These interactions can produce complex disturbance chains with impacts that are much greater than those of individual events.

Understanding these connections is therefore essential for developing integrated risk-management strategies and building resilient forest landscapes.