As part of the PHorestAll project, a second round of forest sampling was recently conducted at Rozkina gozdna učna pot (Forest Educational Trail), the Slovenian study site in the Pohorje region.
Following the sampling carried out during the spring forest therapy programme, the same site was sampled again as part of the autumn forest therapy programme. Repeating the sampling in different seasons will provide data for exploring seasonal variations in the forest environment and comparing environmental conditions between spring and autumn.
The fieldwork was carried out by project partners from the Faculty of Health Sciences (FZV), the Slovenian Forestry Institute (GIS), and the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH).
The autumn campaign included air sampling for biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), collection of conifer needle and soil samples, and recording of environmental and ecological characteristics of the forest. The sampling followed the standardized PHorestAll methodology used across the project's study sites.
The collected samples and environmental data will contribute to the ongoing research activities of the PHorestAll project and provide further insight into the forest environments in which the forest therapy programmes take place.