EDUCATIONAL TRAIL

Before entering the forest, please take a few moments to answer the questions above. Maybe you will find answers along the trail, maybe new questions?

A forest is a complex and intricate natural ecosystem, defined by its dense cover of forest trees. Forests are diverse, varied and extensive, and are the most important terrestrial ecosystems on Earth. In Slovenia, forests cover more than half of the land area, in Nazarje 74%, and directly and indirectly affect the remaining half.
Despite thousands of years of human intervention and direct and indirect shaping, the forest has retained its original, natural appearance well. It is the habitat of plants, animals, fungi and other groups of organisms that have been displaced from modified, human-managed systems (agricultural and urban areas).
Forests provide many ecosystem services. These are benefits and goods, e.g. erosion protection, climate regulation and climate change mitigation, air and water purification, wood, providing us with relaxation and inspiration, etc. In doing so, it has a holistic impact on people's lives and well-being.
Each person understands and experiences the forest in his or her own way. Alongside the high mountains and the sea, it is a metaphor for unspoilt, pristine nature.

A forest of sessile oak and hornbeam, with beech and other species, has overgrown these slopes for millennia.

The natural appearance of the forest in each site is dictated by climatic and soil conditions, as well as human influence. The only exception is the primeval forest, defined as a forest without human influence.
The original forest on Monastery Hill is a mixed deciduous forest, mainly sessile oak and hornbeam, with a group admixture of beech and individual trees of other species, mainly lime.
At the forest edge, where there is more light, a number of shrubs are trying to establish themselves, the most successful being hazel, blackthorn, dogwood, spindle and elder, as well as the shrubby forms of white hornbeam and field maple.
In spring, before the leaves come into leaf, the herb layer is full of spring saffrons and snowdrops, followed by wood anemones. When the canopy becomes leafy, the herb layer becomes scarce because there is not enough light at ground level.
The animal world is mainly made up of various insects and birds, with few other groups due to the constant presence of humans.
Part of the hill, which was farmland until a few decades ago, is overgrown with robinia (false acacia) and part is covered by a spruce grove.
The forest's warm location and views make it a popular place for people to walk and it is densely lined with paths.

Without the forest, the steep slope here would be subject to erosion, increasing water runoff. Plant root tangles, fallen trees and forest soils prevent this. The water also gets purified.

There is a significant water catchment area above this slope and much of the ground is covered with materials that prevent the absorption of rainwater. Most of the water drains down the steep slope, where its rapid flow is slowed by the root tangles of trees and shrubs, herbs, ferns and mosses, and fallen leaves.
Water behaves very differently on roads, trails or paths, including our own. Because of the compacted soil, it cannot seep through, so it flows over the surface, collecting and gaining strength. So we get it off the trail and into the woods as soon as possible, where it disperses and stops.
Loose forest soils can absorb most of the rainwater and greatly reduce runoff downslope. This prevents erosion and at the same time stores a lot of water, which will be available to the plants long after the rain has stopped.
Some of the water that runs off is collected in springs, purified and enriched with minerals and humic substances.
The forest is a reservoir and filter for water. A mature and diverse forest with a high proportion of old trees is the most effective.

From a distance, we can see that these seemingly identical forests are very different. There are mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests.

The Upper Savinja Valley, which includes the municipality of Nazarje, is characterised by a large amount of forest cover, also known as woodland cover. Nazarje's forests cover 74% of the municipality's surface, are rich in biodiversity and have a high timber supply of quality wood from a large number of tree species.
Even from a distance, you can tell from the colours of the canopy that the trees in the forest are diverse. The same applies to forest stands. This is a term used to refer to individual parts of a forest that have certain characteristics that distinguish them from other parts.
Differences manifest themselves differently at different times of the year. They are most pronounced in winter, when deciduous trees are leafless, and the differences are most blurred in summer. In spring, the trees of flowering species stand out, and in autumn, the canopies of those with different coloured leaves from the dominant beech.
Conifers can be well distinguished from deciduous trees, and conifers can also be distinguished from each other - the canopy of spruces is darker and that of pines is lighter. Beech leaves are more delicate than those of oaks, so beech trees have a lighter canopy. Maples, cherries and elms show their presence by flowering in spring and turning colourful leaves in autumn.
The boundaries between some stands are very sharp and clearly visible, indicating different ownership of the plots, and often also that the spruce stands were created by planting. Elsewhere, the transitions are blurred, mostly reflecting the varied terrain and natural features, i.e. rejuvenation.

The herb garden and the ginkgo tree in front of the Franciscan monastery remind us of the former pharmacy, a memorial plaque commemorates the folk school, and the library is home to Trubar's translation of the Gospels.

The Franciscan Monastery and Church is a cultural monument of great importance for the municipality of Nazarje. The Franciscans came to the area some 300 years ago (in 1632) and built a monastery in 1639, which became the spiritual and cultural centre of this part of the valley.
In the period 1695-1825, the monastery had a pharmacy. The monks made their own preparations for treating themselves and the locals, using herbs grown in the monastery garden.
From 1786 to 1941, the monastery was home to a folk school, which brought knowledge and thus a little bit of a better life to the local inhabitants. It is hard to imagine today that 200 years ago, reading and writing were a privilege.
The monastery's library contains precious incunabula dating from 1497, Trubar's Slovenian translation of the Gospels from 1582 and a very well-preserved Dalmatin Bible from 1584. Incunabula are books printed before 1500.
Next to the monastery, the parish church of the Annunciation looks up to the sky. Built in 1661, it surrounds the original Loreto chapel from 1635. The church is a typical Renaissance building, with a Baroque interior, one of the artists being the famous Francesco Robba.

Even in this small space, you can admire the many different species of mosses, ferns, herbaceous plants, herbs, shrubs and trees. Among them are fungi and animals, especially birds and insects.

Around our site, a large number of mature trees of different species grow in a very small area: beech, elm, cherry, hornbeam, oak, linden and spruce.
In their shade, in the shrub and herb layer, they are joined by maples, firs and maclars and, of course, many shrub species that have taken advantage of the gap between the canopies caused by trees felled years ago. It gives them enough light so that some of them can already produce fruit.
Herbs, ferns and mosses are also abundant, with something growing and green at every season, as well as evergreen and ivy in winter.
This small patch of forest is a paradise for birds, which can nest here and almost always have some food right in front of their beaks. Insects are also abundant, especially in summer. Other groups of animals are fewer, mostly small rodents, which are hunted at night by the brown owl.
Slovenia's forests are home to 72 native tree species, 10 of which are conifers. The natural composition of tree species in Slovenia is very diverse, among the most varied in Europe.
Non-native species are also present to a lesser extent, mainly in the form of plantations. There are more than 50 of these species, but they represent an extremely small proportion of the number of trees and the timber stock.

The dead organic material (biomass) is converted into inorganic material (minerals) by decomposers. This allows plants to draw nutrients for their growth and development.

Dead organic material (biomass) must be broken down into minerals to make it available again for plants to grow and develop.
Dead plant and animal parts break down (decompose) most quickly and efficiently in a humid environment.
Many organisms, called decomposers, are involved in this process in interconnected and interdependent ways. These are mainly bacteria, fungi and earthworms, but also other small amphibians (micro-organisms) and soil organisms, and insects, birds and small mammals are also involved.
In simple terms, they break down dead and living organic matter by decomposing it (e.g. crushing it), eating it and digesting it. Decomposition is usually initiated by larger organisms and continued by smaller ones. The decomposition products are simple inorganic substances (minerals), water and gases.
Insects play an important role in decomposition, and can be active as adults or as larvae. Various bark beetles are known to bore tunnels under the bark or in the wood to feed, while at the same time colonising the tunnels with fungi. These fungi decompose wood for food, and are also eaten by the bark beetles. Forest ants are also considered to be decomposers, but they are alo predators.
Fungi cause wood to rot, e.g. stumps, when compact and hard wood becomes increasingly porous and brittle, while at the same time absorbing and retaining large amounts of water more easily. In the same stump, we can trace the tunnels of different species of insects and other organisms.
The decomposition of organic matter in a forest takes place in different stages, from humus to litter to minerals. These are made available again to the roots of plants.

The vast majority of Slovenia's forests (more than 95%) regenerate naturally.
Natural rejuvenation is the basis for a sustainable forest landscape in Slovenia.

There is a public misconception that foresters and forest owners restore or rejuvenate forests mainly by planting forest tree seedlings. However, this is only carried out in a small part of the forests. Planting is mainly done in areas that have been damaged by natural disasters, such as fires and windstorms, or by infestations of bark beetles.
Most forests regenerate naturally, by the seeds of nearby and distant trees. Most tree species spread their seeds with the help of wind and animals. Trees with heavier seeds (oaks, chestnuts and beech) are mainly spread over longer distances by animals.
The forest is generous with its seeds. Trees produce it in reserve, so they can cover large or small areas that are suddenly left bare to rejuvenate. Every few years, the main tree species go to seed in abundance - we call it the seed year.
Foresters plan and guide forest rejuvenation by the amount and intensity of harvesting in the forest to be restored. These are called rejuvenation fellings. They produce timber while mimicking the natural processes of tree decay. After this felling, more light and warmth reach the forest floor, allowing the young trees to grow, which are protected from the extremes by the old-growth trees.
As the young trees grow and develop, we cut down some of the mature trees every few years until the young trees are completely free, and we establish and grow a new, nurtured and therefore stable and high quality young forest.

The age of a spruce can be determined by counting the number of whorls on the trunk.

You will be familiar with spruce tips, the young, green or unwooded shoots at the end of the twigs (and trunk). Each year, new ones grow and by autumn they are woody. In this way, the tree grows in height and width.
Each shoot represents one year of growth, so the last woody shoot is one year old, the second to last two, the next three and so on. By counting the shoots or whorls on the trunk of a tree, we can easily and quickly determine its age without having to cut it down. The count must also take into account any damage caused by infestations or other causes.
These trees are small but not young. They are several dozen years old, some over 50. What is wrong with them?
Every living thing needs favourable living conditions to grow and develop successfully: abiotic (light, warmth, nutrients, water, space) and biotic (absence of diseases and pests, symbiosis in most plants and other animals in most animal species). If all this is not there, it is not thriving.
Our spruces probably lacked light because they grew in the shade of other trees and shrubs. They can survive in these harsh and challenging conditions because the tree's roots are connected to each other by hyphae of fungi, through which they can exchange water and nutrients.
A forest functions as a large system of interconnected organisms (the forest web).

Carbonate rocks are permeable to water, which can seep through them.
The soil is very shallow and poor.

Monastery Hill is a rocky outcrop, composed of carbonates, mainly dolomitic limestone, with some limestone and dolomite. The rock is very friable and breaks up quickly in the air, making it very susceptible to erosion.
We can observe the disintegration of rock in the air at several points along our trail. Children can also crush small stones, most easily in spring, because over winter they crack freshly due to the cold and water.
The soils that developed on these rocks are mostly very shallow and poor, as can be seen on the slope above the road. However, even bare rock can grow a variety of plants, as it has enough moisture to thrive. Carbonates are permeable to water, which can pass through them and, after many cracks, can also flow and transport dissolved minerals and humic substances.
Where the surface is flatter and less washed away, medium-depth, fertile soils developed. Soils that were under agricultural use in the past are of higher quality, partly due to fertilisation, but their fertility is now maintained by abundant leaf litter.

The forest is Slovenia's natural vegetation. If farmland is abandoned, it is covered and protected by forest. Here with non-native robinia (false acacia).

Robinia is a very interesting species; on the one hand it is poisonous (bark, leaves and fruit), but on the other hand the "acacia" honey is very medicinal and tasty, and the fried, beautifully aromatic flowers are also delicious.

The hill's arid slopes have always been covered by forest, while the slopes were cleared by man centuries ago and turned into farmland.
Half a century ago, the lower part of the hill was a beautiful orchard, with regularly mown lawns all around. Eventually, the owners gave up mowing and the meadow became a pasture for cattle.
When they stopped pasturing livestock, the overgrowth of shrubs and pioneer trees began. Then the beekeepers planted some robinia.
Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia), more commonly known as the false acacia, or acacia for short, is a non-native tree species native to North America. It was brought to Europe because of its high honey-bearing capacity, its versatile wood and its interesting appearance. It thrives best in wine-growing areas.
In favourable conditions, it spreads rapidly and inexorably in forests, to the point where it crowds out native tree species, thus reducing the biodiversity of forests. Once it spreads, it is almost impossible to eradicate. It is particularly dangerous in clearings. Robinia is a non-native invasive tree species in Slovenia.
The conversion of farmland and other land to forest can only be prevented by regular cultivation and use.

The spruce plantation is 50 years old and has been increasingly damaged over the last two decades by wind and snow, as well as by bark beetles.

Spruce is a medicinal plant (spruce tips, resin and honey).
Spruce (or forest) honey is of higher quality than flower honey.
Another name for spruce is picea.

The fact that this forest was planted, rather than "naturally" created, is apparent as soon as we see it. Trees grow in rows and are evenly spaced within them. It was planted around 1975.
The plantation has not been tended (thinned), so the trees grow very densely and the canopies are short and weak.
The trees are not adapted to their environment (site), so most of them have damaged (broken) tops due to snow and wind. Some of them have also dried up due to an attack by bark beetles.
Such a forest is not healthy and is slowly but steadily declining. Few trees will live to a ripe old age.
In between, as light and heat reach the ground more and more, various deciduous trees will grow, especially those that can withstand drought and warmer temperatures. The forest will become more natural.
Spruce is a native (autochthonous) tree species in Slovenia, it grows naturally mainly in the mountainous world. Its natural share in the tree composition would be very small, only 8%, today (2024) it is 30%.
Because of its great economic interest (versatile and valuable wood, fast growth) and adaptability (it thrives everywhere, easy to grow), it has been massively planted all over Europe (and Slovenia) for more than 200 years, on a large scale also in lower areas, on unsuitable sites . Its share has increased markedly everywhere.
At first these forests thrived very well, but eventually problems began to appear. They began to be threatened by windbreaks and snowdrifts, then by storm surges, winter and summer droughts. The share of spruce in forests is intensively decreasing.

Sustainability, close to nature management and multi-purpose are the three principles that guide Slovenian forestry.

Forests are vital for all of us, the owners and the society as a whole, and are a key part of nature conservation. History has shown that they can be quickly devalued and destroyed by overexploitation and inappropriate use. In some parts of the world, this is also reflected in the present.
The Slovenian forestry profession has formulated three basic principles for the health, conservation and development of forests.
Sustainability, close to nature management and multi-purpose are the fundamental principles for forest management.
Sustainability is best ensured by appropriate felling and avoiding deforestation where it is scarce, in the lowlands and around settlements. We must not cut more wood in a forest than it grows in a given time. This permanently maintains the forest's timber stock at an appropriate level. The same applies to other goods, e.g. foraging for wild fruits, so harvesting quantities are limited.
Close to nature management means that forest development planning and work in forests should mimic the natural forest as much as possible. To this end, we have set up a network of forest reserves, which we leave to develop naturally (we don't cut them down) and monitor how they evolve.
Multi-purpose means that a forest provides several services and benefits at the same time in one place: it produces oxygen, cleans the air, holds water, regulates the climate, provides relaxation and recreation, and grows wood all the time, the most environmentally friendly raw material for many products.
Foresters also refer to ecosystem services and benefits as the ecological, social and productive roles of forests.
The best tools for guiding forest development on the basis of these principles are the correct selection of trees to be felled (markings), which is the task of the forester, and the correct implementation of the felling, which is the task of the owner.

Wetlands are vital habitats for nature conservation, a source of biodiversity - and people depend on healthy wetlands for their livelihoods.

A wetland is an area that is inundated with water, periodically or permanently, in sufficient quantities to create a dynamic but permanent mix of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It is teeming with life and rich in biodiversity.
This is also the case here. Water flowing down the slopes hits an impermeable surface and gets trapped. A small marsh has formed, with a puddle in the middle. Uphill (up-water) it continues into a wet meadow.
The willows, poplars and alders that grow along the edge are adapted to wet ground and love water. In spring, amphibians roost in the water, and in summer, dragonflies rule over the water.
Some people still think that wetlands are a source of mosquito breeding (and mosquitoes sting and transmit disease) and other useless organisms, sometimes also of smell and disease, and above all a completely useless place where you can't build or at least plough. They think and act like they are pretty good for a garbage dump. As a result, many wetlands are increasingly under threat.
In Nazarje, wetlands are the only natural habitats apart from forests. They range from the lowest point in the municipality (at the Savinja River) to almost the highest (the Šavnice basin on Menina). Because they are so few and cover a very small area, they need to be protected and preserved.

The forest edge is the collision of two worlds, the forest and the outside, other ecosystem.

The forest edge here continues into scrubland, which is regularly maintained - cut down every few years - due to the power line crossing. Maintenance must be carried out outside the bird breeding season and outside vegetation.

A forest edge is the transition from forest to farmland or other landscapes. Like all interactions between two or more ecosystems, it is characterised by the great diversity of living beings and their interactions.
Inside the forest, trees receive light only from the top, and the canopy follows suit. In most forests, light does not reach the soil in summer for herbs to grow successfully.
At the edge of the forest, light also comes in from the side, so the canopy is different, one-sided, with stronger lower branches. Under the trees, many shrubs have plenty of light and warmth, and their fruits are a source of food for animals. The edge is also a favourable habitat for stem plants (raspberries), herbs (strawberries) and ferns. Birds, insects and small mammals like to settle in the forest edge because of the abundance of food and suitable places for nests and burrows.
At the edge of the forest, the trees are shorter and hardier, as they do not have to fight for light as much as in the inner part of the forest, so together with the shrubs, they form a shield against the winds. The most effective windbreak is a sloping forest edge that slowly descends into the agricultural landscape.
At the same time, the edge of the forest is an effective protective layer against summer heat and winter cold for young trees, young wood and the trunks of mature trees.
The forest edge with non-forested areas is called the outer forest edge. Around clearings, cuttings and along the edges of small watercourses, the forest forms an inner forest edge.

Forests, if there are enough of them and they are old enough, can hold water runoff.

The Nazarje-Savinja Water Station, known locally as the water gauge, measures water height (water level), flow and temperature in a fully automated way.

The Savinja River originates high in the mountains and has many Alpine tributaries. Its catchment area is extensive and grows rapidly during snowmelt in the mountains or heavy rainfall. It has a torrential character.
Today, forest cover is high in the mountains, so forests can hold large amounts of rainwater, store it and purify it (filter it).
Of course, the forest is not all-powerful, with heavy rainfall in July and August in 2024 and in October and November in 1990, resulting in a huge amount of rain. The forest could not hold these volumes and catastrophic floods resulted.
One hundred and fifty years ago (1875), forest cover in what is now Slovenia was very low, at 36.4%. This is why floods were more frequent in the centuries before and until the start of the Second World War than they are today, because there was not enough forest to reduce runoff. However, they caused less damage than today, when the land along the rivers is built up.
Mature, old and diverse forests are the most effective at retaining water. Large trees consume more water than young trees. On average, a mature forest uses half the water that falls on its soil to grow.
The windswept areas of forest on the opposite bank, which you can see from the bench, will not be able to hold much rainfall for many years to come. Rapid runoff from these areas causes erosion and causes water in drinking water springs to get turbit.

The river invites and protects, brings and carries away, gives and takes away.

River confluences have always been of strategic and settlement interest. Settlement was not possible or sensible because of the wetlands (marshes and swamps) that stretched between the two rivers. Only on the rock at the confluence were people safe from the annual floods.
The original castle, built on a rock mound in the middle of the present castle complex, dates back to at least the first half of the 12th century. It is thought to have taken its present form around 1480. The present Vrbovec Castle was completely restored in 1992.
Today, the castle is home to the Vrbovec Museum of Forestry and Timber. The museum's collection presents the history and development of forestry and wood processing in the Upper Savinja Valley.
From the 15th century onwards, the Savinja and the Dreta were used to transport timber to Belgrade and sometimes even further. The timber industry began to develop at their confluence, thanks to transport and the possibility of harnessing energy from the water. The economic development of the town began in 1901 with the establishment of the first industrial sawmill, at that time the second largest in Slovenia.
The beginnings of the urban infrastructure were laid in 1915-1917, when almost 1,200 refugees from Mirna na Primorskem were relocated to the area of today's Nazarje as a result of the war. They were members of a shoemakers' cooperative that made footwear for the army. Workshops, living quarters, shops, a school, health care, cultural activities and a fire station were quickly built.
Nazarje only really grew after the Second World War, when it got its name. The real development of the town began with Slovenia's independence.
Today, the castle and the confluence area are a place for people and tourists to meet, socialise and admire nature.

In the forest, we are guests of the forest and its owner.

You have reached the end of the trail. We hope that you have learnt something interesting and useful about nature, forests, forestry and our place along the trail, and that we have inspired you to take more and more walks through the forests, including on the many forest learning trails around Slovenia.
Now enjoy the view across the vast forests of the Upper Savinja Valley, which reach all the way to the peaks of the mountains that surround it, to the birch trees of the rivers and the edges of the settlements.
Slovenians have only a few minutes' walk from home to a nearby forest, which is a great opportunity for a healthy walk, to get in touch with nature and with oneself.
Never let your walk through the forest pass without hugging a tree. A mighty old tree will fill you with centuries of energy.

Make your walk through the forest safe for you, for the forest owner and for the forest.
Walking through the forest, jogging or cycling should only take place on designated paths. There are enough of them. If we stray off the path into the forest undergrowth, we may unknowingly and unintentionally step on and destroy young forest trees, a spring or even a nest.
Cycling in the forest is only allowed on marked paths, cycling on forest trails accelerates erosion.
If you drive to the forest, park your car in a suitable place, right next to the road. Never drive your vehicle into the forest, you will cause damage.
It is particularly inconvenient for the forest owner if we leave our vehicle at a junction of a trail on the forest road, we may prevent the forest owner from exporting timber to a storage yard along the forest road.
The forest is full of fruits and berries. They are basically meant for plant reproduction, which is why they are attractive to animals and are their food. They allow them to survive while spreading the seeds of the plants. This must be taken into account when picking and the legal limits on the amount of fruit that can be picked must be respected. This is our way of showing our respect for nature.