In the territory of Slovenia, the earliest proofs of the presence of people date back to the Palaeolithic. In all subsequent periods, the entire territory was quite densely populated. The use of space for agricultural purposes, especially pasturing, demanded increasing amounts of deforestation of original forest vegetation. Due to soil and climate conditions, reflected in the low productivity of the agricultural areas, the tendency to deforest new areas was present for centuries. The constant deforestation brought about agrarian congestion in some areas, which reached its peak in the second half of the 19th century.
Since then, the area of forests in Slovenia has been constantly increasing, but despite this trend, we cannot be satisfied with the changing of forest areas. Forest areas are increasing in places where there are sufficient forests from the viewpoint of landscape variety and appearance. However, despite the forest preservation efforts, a lot of pressure is exerted on the forests in the areas with intensive agriculture and especially in suburban areas, gradually leading to deforestation of areas that already lack forests. (National Forest Programme)
Every year, the Slovenia Forest Service processes 750 to over 900 applications for approval of forest interventions. In 2006, 653 forest interventions were recorded in a total area of 240.19 ha, which slightly exceeds the average of previous periods (the average for the period 2001-2005 was 205.06 ha, and the average for the period 1995-2000 was 282.68 ha); however, this can hardly be considered a trend (positive or negative).
Since 2008, the majority of deforestation has been a result of the construction of infrastructure facilities such as motorways, power lines, buildings and other facilities (stone quarries, landfills, refuse pits). In 2008 there has been an extraordinary increase in deforestation because of agriculture, such surfaces represent nearly half of the deforestated area. The reason is a change of Law on Forests, which enables deforestation for agriculture purposes on the areas smaller the 0,5 ha, where the forest is not specially protected. In addition to that there was a change in the Decree on direct payments in agriculture, which extends the payments rights to cathegory 1800 - agriculture area covered with forest trees.
The scope of deforestation is quite extensive in some areas and its (negative) impact is large, especially considering the fact that deforestation for the purpose of urban planning and infrastructure has been carried out mainly in the forests that are in the direct vicinity of large towns. A relatively large number of outstanding forests were cleared due to infrastructure construction (motorways, electrical power lines).

Assessment of the trend

Generally speaking, deforestation represents a negligible portion of all forests. The largest percentage is due to urban planning and it will probably remain this way, because the trend of populating the suburban areas shall continue. The pressure on forests shall probably increase, which is why it shall become necessary to look for compromises and actively cooperate in spatial planning. At first sight, deforestation for the purpose of agriculture does not appear to be critical (considering the amount of overgrown areas), but a large percentage is carried out in agricultural and suburban landscape, where forests are insufficient already and their role is more important.
The surface area of deforestation for the purpose of waste dumps and cemeteries will probably increase. A special problem that may not stand out in scope, but has a significant impact on the environment and is growing rapidly, is deforestation for the purpose of stone quarries and sand pits (mining). This area shall have to be properly arranged in cooperation with other relevant authorities.