Matra1The present Matrafured Experimental Station was founded in 1960 as a landscape unit in accordance with science organizing concept. Its name was Northern Middle Mountains Research Station. In its heyday, it was a base employing 40 people where research on forest protection, tree breeding, ecology, work organization and mechanization was carried out. Several field objects belonged and still belong to the Station. The oldest of them is the Erosion Measuring Station in the Kisnana-Dolina Valley that was established in 1954 and is still operating. The Matra2main aim of the research carried out there is to monitor water erosion and to develop controlling methods. The number of the staff decreased in the 80ies and in 1991 the Station was closed. The buildings were used by the Vadas Jeno Forest Technical College until 1994. Though with significantly reduced headcount, the Station was re-opened in 1995 as a branch office. In 2004, most of the staff of the Forest Protection Department was moved to Matrafured, so today the Department and the Station Matra3completely overlap. Accordingly, the present scope of activity covers forest protection research at the FRI. There are 5 researchers and 2 technicians working on the Mátrafüred Station. Besides forest protection research in a narrow sense, first of all ecological research (sample plots in spruce, beech, and sessile oak forest, water yield measurement objects, air pollution measurements) and breeding research (IUFRO spruce provenance test) is also carried out in the Matra. These are supervised by the Department of Ecology and Silviculture and the Department of Tree Breeding and Genetics.