MyGardenOfTrees

“Our micro-garden is in good condition. My colleagues and I did the spring monitoring according to the schedule. As we work in school, we also use the micro-garden for field teaching. Some of the monitoring was done by our students (forestry technicians) with our help and control.

Fir seedlings are in better condition regarding their number. We only have five beech seedlings left. 

The general experience is very positive. Our students also like to participate, as that was one of our main goals when we applied for the project.

Sometimes it's tiresome when we have to do the monitoring and complicated to coordinate it with our regular obligations, especially when the weather conditions are bad.”

ID 91, Augustin Jelušić, High School Otočac (Croatia)

Students in micro-gardens ID 115 (Croatia), ID 93 (Ukraine) and ID 378 (Spain) 

“Our observations at plot 393 are proceeding well, even though the plot is fenced and is located right next to a spruce forest stand. We are hesitant to remove the tree shelters because deer and bears have repeatedly breached the fence, entered the plot, and browsed the young fir trees that are also growing nearby. Our plot is regularly visited by a brown bear - a female with cubs. The cubs are very curious about our experiment and sometimes move or knock over the tree shelters.

A major problem in Slovakia in terms of afforestation and natural regeneration is currently the very high population density of game, particularly deer. Silver fir is especially attractive to them, and as a result, it is unable to regenerate naturally in many forest stands.

On this particular plot, young seedlings and saplings are often damaged by late spring frosts. However, our young beech seedlings from different provenances were not affected by frost, as they are protected by the taller herbaceous vegetation in the understory.

Over the course of this year and the previous year, we have observed increased mortality in the AN-CAUC provenance.”

ID 393, Gabriela Jamnicka, Institute of Forest Ecology SAS, Zvolen (Slovakia)

“Being part of MGOT has been a transformative journey for our experimental community project, Gello3000, in Tuscany. We’ve been joined by many passionate visitors—botanists, researchers, and tree lovers—who have lent their hands and eyes during our monitoring sessions. Tracking the survival of these seedlings feels like an ongoing adventure, bringing us closer to our forest and deepening our understanding of plant behavior across the seasons.

Continuing the monitoring over multiple years has breathed new life into our discussions about climate resilience and the vital role trees play in this precious ecosystem. Summer 2026 has been particularly dry and hot in our region, and watching the seedlings struggle with these dire climatic conditions—alongside several forest fires in the surrounding areas—has shown us the urgency of taking action now. Cooperating against climate change and managing forests sustainably is more important than ever!”

ID 190, Isabel Meraner, Gello3000,  San Miniato (Italy)

Micro-garden site ID 190 (Italy), Fagus and Abies seedlings in the garden

“All the beech seeds have been eaten by small rodents.

Germination seems to depend on very local factors; so sometimes I have 10 seedlings in the same spot, and sometimes none at all.

In the Belgian Ardennes, fir stands are very rare; 50 percent of our conifers are spruce, with the remainder consisting of Douglas fir, larch and pine. The seedlings seem to be coping well with the current drought – two months without any significant rain...

Many seedlings are developing a small side shoot, perhaps due to a lack of light.”

ID 256, Damien Jacqmin, private forester (Belgium)

“First of all, I think that the experiment is well planned and the communication is very well organized.

In my opinion, the condition of the Fagus seeds and their pre-treatment prior to sowing were not adequate, so I do not think adequate conclusions can be drawn considering their survival. There were some poor-quality seeds, and they weren’t treated before sowing, etc. I would have been curious to see what results we would have obtained if the seeds had been of good quality.

In contrast, the Abies seeds were full of surprises. In that case, the propagating material was generally good and viable. I was astonished that they did not die out completely during this summer drought, not even the seedlings that were exposed to full sunlight.

Of course, neither the summer nor the drought has ended yet.

I also think it’s good that you’re paying attention to environmental conditions and observing the herbaceous vegetation.

I consider myself lucky to be able to take part in the monitoring. In today’s changing world, I find it very useful and forward-looking.

It would be worth including other tree species in a similar experiment, ones that are less tolerant of shade.”

ID 252, Antónia Fajger-Völgyesi, Északerdő Zrt. (Hungary)

“The site, which was once a clearing of dense ferns where nothing else could grow, has completely changed following weekly maintenance to control the ferns (one clearing per week). In fact, the vegetation today is completely different from what existed before the garden was established. If I hadn’t controlled the vegetation, the upper layer would be a closed canopy consisting entirely of ferns (Pteridium aquilina) throughout the entire garden, with a mixture of blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) underneath.

It should be noted that controlling the ferns allowed for the establishment of fairly abundant natural regeneration of Pseudotsuga menziezii, Betula pendula, Cytisus scoparius, Sambucus nigra, Quercus robur, Salix caprea, and Sorbus aucuparia. All of these species did not exist here before. In fact, even if they had sprouted, the shade cast by the ferns would have caused them to wither away. 

Since last year, I’ve had to raise a number of the protective covers for the beech trees, and also because Douglas firs had taken over the covers next to the fir and beech seedlings. This year, given the heat wave, I did not remove the new fern growth starting in mid-June in order to provide some light shade.”

ID 94, Bernard Palluet, private forester (France)

In some micro-gardens, which were set up on clearings, herbaceous vegetation is abundant, and competition for light is higher, 

like in gardens ID 94 (France) and ID 96 (Poland)