Institute of Forest Engineering
Fax: +385 1 235 2517
Scientific Activity and Projects
The basic tasks of the Institute are: 1) implementation of curricula at all levels of study at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, 2) scientific research, 3) transfer of knowledge by organizing national and international scientific and professional conferences, 4) publishing, 5) professional activity, and 6) lifelong education of forestry experts. The components of the Institute are also the Laboratory of Technical and Technological Measurements in Forestry and the Laboratory of Forest Biomass. Within the Institute, two journals are being prepared and published - Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering and Nova mehanizacija šumarstva (the New Forestry Mechanization).
In the period between 1998 and 2018 the employees of the Institute of Forest Engineering were the leaders of fifty-two scientific projects licensed by the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of the University of Zagreb. Nine projects were financed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia (MSES RH), three were designed as a part of technological project of MSES RH, one was co-financed by the European Social Fund and the MSES RH, thirty-two were ordered by the company “Hrvatske šume” (Croatian Forests), and seven by public institutions managing various categories of protected natural areas. Most scientific projects relate to research on wood coating and woodchips production from the perspective of the efficiency, environmental suitability and safety at work (13), followed by the research of the business organization, planning and production in forestry (10), the technical, energy and ergonomic benefits of forestry machinery (9), eco-engineering management of nature protected areas (8), primary and secondary forest openings and optimization of the forest road network (6), mechanization of silvicultural works (4), design, construction and maintenance of forest transport infrastructure (2).
Professional Activity
- The professional activity of the Institute of Forest Engineering during the period from 1998 to 2018 is reflected through 34 completed expert projects ordered by different contracting authorities. The largest number of the designed expert projects refers to the optimization of the primary forest road network.
- Eleven members of the Institute are certified engineers in forestry and participate actively in the work of the Croatian Chamber of Engineers in Forestry and Wood Technology, as panellists in conducting professional qualification tests, as lecturers in the concept of lifelong education of forestry experts, but also as members of different bodies of the Chambers where they perform different duties and functions. Two members of the Institute are certified judicial experts and four members of the Institute participate in the activities of different technical committees of the Croatian Standards Institute. The members of the Institute participated in working groups for the preparation of byelaws or professional guidelines.
Services and Products
- Convenience of wood harvesting system and of the respective equipment
- Forest opening study
- Development strategies
- Forest road main project
- Market research
History of the Institute
The Institute of Forest Engineering has been operating under this name since October 20, 2005 upon the adoption of the Status of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology and is the successor of the Institute of Forest Exploitation and a part of the Institute of Organization and Economics in Forestry both founded in 1997 by merging former organizational units, the Chair of Forestry Utilization, the forestry related part of the Chair of Wood Technology and Mechanical Engineering in Forestry, the Chair of Forestry Transport Equipment and Civil Engineering, the Chair of the Organization of Forestry Production, whose roots date back to the very beginnings of forestry education in Croatia.
Chair of Forest Exploitation (1975 – 1997) is the successor of the Institute of Forest Exploitation (1960 – 1975), the Institute of Wood Technology (1948-1959) and the Institute of Forest Utilization (1924 – 1948).
The Chair of Wood Technology and Mechanical Engineering in Forestry (1984 – 1997) is in part a successor of the Institute of Engineering in Wood Industry (1957 – 1997) and of the Institute of Industrial Machine Testing (1919 – 1957).
The Chair of Forestry Transport Equipment and Civil Engineering (1975 – 1997) is the predecessor of the Institute of Construction and Communication in Forestry (1960 – 1975), i.e.the Chair of Forest Transport Vehicles (1919 – 1959), the Chair for Water-Construction Works and the Cabinet for Building Sector.
The Chair of Organization of Production in Forestry (1975 – 1997) is partly a successor of the Institute of Economics and Organization of Forest Economy and Wood Industry (1960 – 1975), the Institute of Forest Management Planning and Forest Economy (1945 – 1960), of the Institute of Forest Management Planning and Forest Resources Evaluation (1935 – 1945), i.e. of the Chair of Forest Management Planning (1919 – 1935).
A great number of colleagues left their mark with their scientific, educational and professional work within the organizational units of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology whose successor is the present Institute of Forestry Engineering and Technology:
Roko Benić, Josip Biškup, Stevan Bojanin, Viljem Čehovin, Raimond Fantoni, Stanko Flögl, Ivo Godek, Uroš Golubović, Đuro Hamm, Dubravko Horvat, Josip Hribar, Željka Ivanović, Hranislav Jakovac, Željko Jambrošić, Zlatko Kostrenčić, Ivan Knežević, Branko Kraljić, Ante P.B. Krpan, Ninoslav Lovrić, Marko Lovrić, Nenad Miler, Milenko Plavšić, Dragutin Pičman, Zvonimir Potočić, Rudolf Sabadi, Viktor Setinski, Stanislav Sever, Igor Stankić, Anđelka Šajković, Simeun Tomanić, Zdenko Tonković, Aleksandar Ugrenović, Vladimir Verner, Vencl Vondra, Nikola Vranković, Marko Zorić.