History of IFER

IFER was established in 1994. Since then IFER elaborated close to three hundred research projects carried out either on its own or in collaboration with a wide range of local and foreign research partners and clients. Today, IFER operates in numerous project activities encompassing boreal, temporal and tropical regions. Linked to its research and consulting activities, IFER also develops and offers its own original products – advanced software tools for computer-aided field data collection, mapping and analysis, growth models etc.

In this period, IFER expands its project portfolio to include safety research topics (Czech Ministry of the Interior) to reduce the risk of fire in forests and landscape in a team cooperation with Global Change Research Institute CAS. IFER also deals with projects focused on forest adaptation and projections of forest resources linked to the current exceptional calamity situation in the Czech Republic – focusing on impacts, adaptation management in forestry, changes in species composition, production possibilities and greenhouse gas emissions. As a member of the Czech National GHG Inventory System, IFER implements technical projects related to the GHG emission obligations of the Czech Republic and the emission balance of the sectors of Agriculture and LULUCF sectors. In the international environment, IFER is involved in important European initiatives and projects: it is a team-member of the LIFETERRA project (www.lifeterra.eu) with the aim of significantly strengthening afforestation in the EU, and it is involved in the EU-funded ForestNavigator project (www.forestnavigator.eu), which analyzes mitigation possibilities of forestry and related sectors of the EU.

IFER, in cooperation with the Charles University in Prague, is launching the project Optimizing the management of forest regeneration in habitats affected by surface mining, which deals with the issue of forest revitalization of these problematic areas in the country.

In this year, the ACECZECHFOR project – Impacts of changing growth conditions on tree species growth, stand production and vitality – danger or opportunity for Central European forestry? (www.aceczechfor.ifer.cz) was completed. The project was supported by the Czech Science Foundation. IFER coordinated a wide research team including Global Change Research Institute CAS, Institute of Botany CAS and University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The published project results on the state of forests we based on the data of the repeated CzechTerra Landscape Inventory (www.czechterra.cz) survey. IFER also participated in the completion of the FRAMEADAPT project (www.frameadapt.cz), which, i.a., compiled a catalog of forestry adaptation measures applicable for the conditions of the Czech Republic.

During the conference named “Forest adaptation strategies for Beskydy” in Frýdek-Místek the final outcomes and recommendations resulting from the project LASPROBES were presented to wider professional community, incl. interpretation of the proposed measures of forestry adaptation strategies that respond to the changing growth environment and condition of forest ecosystems dominated by spruce. The results of ACECZECHFOR project (CzechTerra 2nd cycle) were processed and presented at the XVIII. Conference of foresters related to NFI in Hradec Kralove, and also during a workshop at Ministry of Environment. In 2015, the application MONIS was successfully introduced in Opavská lesní, incl. commissioning the independent server for data archiving. The measurements of timber volume were performed for forest auctions organized by Forests of Czech Republic, for army forest division Mimoň and for several private forest owners. Software application CZETAX was used for creating FMP in Přemyslovice and other private forest owners. We continue to work and provide of forest service in Cape Verde. In October, IFER participated in trainings to prepare the 3rd cycle of NFI in Ireland.

In 2014, IFER celebrated its twentieth year of company existence. The anniversary celebration was held in the form of a friendly meeting with all those involved in IFER in recent years. That year we focused on the presentation of the company and active participation in home trade actions (Silva Regina) and also abroad (INTERGEO). IFER organized the 5th User Conference for users of Field-Map. That conference was aimed to exchange experience amongst users and to get acquianted with new applications of technology Field-Map, incl. examples of specific projects. The conference was attended by 23 users from 11 countries. The project METHODS II held several courses called Summer school of forest inventory. These one-week courses were designed for students and doctoral students of forestry universities. The main goals were to familiarize students with the use of advanced technology Field-Map for monitoring forest ecosystems. In cooperation with the publisher of Forestry the educational materials were published in the form of a script titled “Methods of studying forest ecosystems using the Field-Map technology “.

In 2013, IFER focused on the development and operational application of new technological tools suitable for the creation and restoration of forest management plan and forest inventory. IFER established cooperation with the forestry schools. For the Priroda company, the software CZETAX was developed and completed and it was used to process and hand over almost 60,000 hectares of forest management plans, almost 56,000 hectares of which were forest management plans for Forests of the Czech Republic. The key projects of 2013 focused on the forest health in the Beskid Mountains and on a retrospective analysis of the growth of woody plants in the Czech Republic, designed in collaboration with four partner institutions (Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Institute of Botany ASCR, PF JCU, CzechGlobe). During 2013 there were some organizational changes in the sales department.

A new specific software CZETAX was developed and designed to support creation of forest management plans. It includes full functionality in collecting information about forest stands in the field, forest mapping, data management, data reports and special calculations for forestry plans. In May 2012, project CzechForScen was successfully finalized. LASPROBES project was focused on physiological investigations, the monitoring network and growth experiment, newly was presented model of projections and design of the structure forestry adaptation strategies. IFER cooperated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Japan, when newly developed software for reporting greenhouse gas emissions within national emission inventories was tested. IFER participated in two projects (S-TROM and METHODS II), which are involved in the creation of a network-oriented to the forestry departments. IFER was also involved in the international projects ARANGE (multifunctional forest management in the mountain areas of Europe), CASTLE (supporting forestry education) and INFRES (focused on renewable sources). The cooperation of the National Forest Inventory in Russia, Ireland and the Cape Verde Islands continued.

In terms of research activities, a participation in four international consortia was significant (the projects funded under the 7th Framework Programme of the EU). The cooperation with ROSLESINFORG continued. The main aim was to develop specific programs for processing, archiving and verifying data of National Forest Inventory. The sales of standing timber trees in the forest in the form of public tender were prepared and performed for the Military Forests and Properties. CzechTerra project re-survey was completely prepared and the landscape and inventory system was presented to several potential users. CzechForScen project elaborated the study analyzing adaptation and mitigation measures in forestry proposed in Czech Republic and selected EU countries. The second year of LASPROBES project presented results from the fields of physiological experiments and investigations revised the monitoring network in LHC Jablunkov area. The technological development of tools to support the creation LHP and cooperation on international projects MOTIVE and Northern Tosia continued.

IFER managed to sign a new cooperation agreement on the project NFI Russia with institutions ROSLESINFORG and also to deliver a set of Field-Map technology for teaching in russian secondary schools. A project of international development cooperation in Ukraine (TechInLes II) was finished. CzechTerra project continued by data processing, a methodological concept of “landscape inventory” successfully passed international opposition proceeding. Project focused on mapping an yew occurence in the Czech Republic was finished. LASPROBES project started this year, a current knowledge on the area of interest, a description of the monitoring network and basic inventory survey, the establishment and cultivation of physiological experiments and analyzing data management based on LHP and LHE were performed. IFER also elaborated 4th repeated survey of game damage in CR. Technological tools have been developed to support the creation LHP. IFER continued to work on international projects MOTIVE and Northern Tosia also.

We continue in the Russian national forest inventory and also in Ukrainian inventory project TechInLes II. IFER makes an effort to expand to new countries and regions – we try to contact forestry institutions in France, Malaysia, Gabon or Peru.

One of the largest project in our history has been started running – Technological and methodological assistance to National Forest Inventory of the Russian Federation (GIL RF). In Malaysia we worked on another project for FACE Foundation. Within the context of more project a number of employees expanded again – at the end of the year 2008 IFER has got 30 workers.

Many important and long-terming projects have been started in this year: CzechTerra (dealing with adaptation of landscape to global climate changes), Inventory of european yew in the Czech Republic or Assortment of forest stands for Military Forests and Farms.

In the year 2006 TechInLes (project of foreign development partnership with Ukraine) was terminated. IFER also joined an international research team working on project EFORWOOD.
IFER gained ISO certification in this year.

In context of fast development of Field-Map technology IFER has established a sister company IFER – Monitoring and Mapping Solutions, focused on bussines and marketing.

We have become the members of COST Action E43, dealing with the harmonisation of national forest inventories in Europe.

A carbon stock monitoring campaigns in national parks Kibale and Mt. Elgon in Uganda took place; these projects were solved for FACE Foundation. In this year a project CzechCarbo has started – it studied carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems.

From the first years of new millenium IFER has started to solve more projects relating to carbon stock monitoring and emission inventories. Also projects of forest inventory on regional and national level began more important.

In the year 1999 IFER started to develop new methods of forest management planning in structurally rich forests for Czech Ministry of Agriculture.

In the year 1998 IFER has expanded significantly – concerning number of project and also concerning amount of employees.

IFER moved from Davle to present seat in Jílové u Prahy.
In the year 1996 IFER has organized an international science conference NATO ARW “Atmosferic Deposition and Forest Management” in Harrachov.

Since the year 1995 IFER has started to develop a methods of statistical forest inventory. The basic project in this field has been the development of the methodology of National forest inventory of Czech Republic (NFI). In the sequence with large field works in the frame of NFI IFER has started to develop Field-Map – technology for field data collection and their processing.

In the beggining this group worked within the frame of Pyrus company, but in May 1994 – with three other colegues – they established IFER, Ltd. At that time the key projects were focused on forest health assesment and growth processes modelling. In this period IFER published Growth tables and growth models of main tree species of Czech Republic, that are used up to this day.

The history of IFER has started in 1992, when a group of research workers (M. Černý, J. Pařez, M. Michalec, P. Slavík) decided to leave Research institute of forest and game management (VÚLHM Jíloviště-Strnady) and to try to work in a smaller team more independently, effectively and intensively.