Lesnícke značenie
Walking through the forest, we can observe various markings. One group of them are called forestry marks.
From station no. 3 we continue straight along the red marking (0706), on a gentle slope to the crossing of forest roads on a clearing with stacks of wood. Here we find a sing post with the local name Pod gaštanicou (Below the chestnut garden), 344 MASL. Time: 7 min., in the opposite direction 5 min., length: 0.4 km, easy.
Every forest has its own user. According to them the forests are divided into so-called ‘user units’. The borders between those units are marked with an orange rectangle of about 10 × 10 cm. This marking represents some sort of virtual fence between individual users.
On the trees we can see also horizontal or red stripes of 15 × 5 cm. these represent the border between different forest vegetation. Their colours correspond to forest categories. A white stripe marks the border of commercial forests, the main function of which is to produce lumber for commercial use. A red stripe marks the border of protected forests, which for example are designated to protect the soil or prevent from erosion. Individual forest categories require a specific sort of management.
Two dots of different colours on the trunks of the trees, each with a diameter of about 5 cm, one of them in about 130 cm and the second immediately above the soil, mark a tree assigned for felling. In the case of white dots the tree is dying or already dead. In larger clearings only trees bordering this clearing are marked with capital T’s in various colours.
Even small-scale protected areas, as for example the protected area of the Jelenská gaštanica or the ‘European Protected Area of the Kostoľany Meadows‘ (Chránený areál Kostolianske lúky) have border markings consisting of two red stripes on the trunks. The upper stripe is painted around the whole trunk, the second only into the centre, to exactly mark the extent of the protected area. Protected is hereby the part facing the perimeter unmarked by the second stripe.
In certain parts of the forests, there are sheets with numbers places high in the trees. Mostly they mark trees of a research area. A commercial (border) pile represents a good orientation point for the foresters or those, who owe a forestry map. A small pyramid with a squared timber usually stands at the border of forest vegetation or ‘user units’. A number on those piles, painted in red or black on a white undercoat corresponds to the number in the forestry map at a scale of 1 : 10 000. All above mentioned markings serve solely the forestry purposes. They can by no means be used for orientation and are no substitute for tourist markings.
