For the first time, the question of establishing of silviculture department and two years forestry courses was raised in 1818 and several times later at the University of Lviv. It managed to solve it simultaneously with the founding of the Agrarian School. In its structure in 1856 as an object (encyclopedic course) was included the silviculture, which was singled out in the curriculum. The first head of the silviculture department was known then forester, member of the Galician Forest Society, Jan Gebenstraight. His successors were associate professors V. Tynetskyy (1888-1892), B. Lypynskyy (1891-1900), S. Sokolovskyy (1904-1916).

The new stage of the department’s development began with the establishment of the National School of Forestry in 1874 on the initiative of the Galician Forest Society. In the eighties, the school received the status of the Higher Forestry School, after which it began forest activities in the modern sense. The silviculture department was led by Professors V. Tynetskyy, G. Strzelecki, J. Demianowski, S. Sokolowskyy. Other prominent personalities were working alongside them – professors B. Blotskyy, B. Lypynskyy, E. Stanetsky, O. Kozikovsky, V. Shafer, M. Malachinsky, M. Yanechko, S. Vjerdak and others. These were high-profile individuals and forest professionals who received class and special education at well-known universities in Europe. Managers were selected by competition, the department maintained contacts with scientists from Europe, and its employees participated in international forest congresses.

During the same period, at the Technical Academy (the predecessor of Lviv Polytechnic) for the students of the chemical department assistant professor K. Akht-Tarlovskyy, and from 1913 S. Sokolovskyy also read the encyclopedic course of silviculture.

In 1919 the Agrarian Academy and the Higher Forestry School was attached to the Lviv Polytechnic and formed a forest and rural faculty based on them. The Department of Silviculture has become one of the departments of this faculty.

The Silviculture department was located in the same building as in the Higher Forestry School (now the building of the UNFU on O. Kobylyanska St., 1), occupied here four rooms, had a large library (more than 1400 issues), for practical classes and researches of it 6 hectares of forest were allocated. Tour excursions for students were conducted in the forests of the present Vynnyky forest district.

In 1920-1928 the Silviculture department hold Professor, graduate of the Vienna Forestry Academy, experienced practitioner O. Berwed. He was not interested in scientific work; he focused mostly on practical training of students. There were 7 teachers in the staff. In 1926, K. Sukhetskyy, a graduate of the Vienna Forestry Academy and experienced practice, but inclined to research, was involved in the department.

In 1928 K. Sukhetskyy holds the post of head of the department, works in this position until 1939. Their doctoral degree was obtained in 1930. The subject of research of the department during this period: forest seed production, forest ecology. In 1929 in the magazine “Sylvan” there were published solid articles by K. Sukhetskyy and T. Markovskyy on these issues.

After the accession of Western Ukrainian lands to the Ukrainian SSR, the Department of Silviculture functions as part of the Lviv Polytechnic University until July 1941. During the German occupation, specialized courses were created on the basis of faculties in various specialties. Among the teachers of forest professional courses we note the author of the main two-volume work “Forests and forestry in Ukraine” B. Ivanytskyy. More than 700 Ukrainians and Poles were enrolled in the course.

After the restoration in Lviv of the Soviet regime and the Lviv Polytechnic Institute (LPTI), the work of the Faculty of Forestry was restored. She was headed by prof.

P. Pogrebnyak (part-time). In 1946, the forestry-agrarian faculty of LPTI was transformed into a Lviv Agricultural Institute, the head of the Silviculture Department became associate professor (later professor) M. Gorshenin.

In 1946, the Forest Engineering Institute was organized in Lviv. In 1949, there was established two departments: botany, soil sciences and silviculture; forest measurement and geodesy. The first one (since 1950 – the Department of Siliculture and Forest Protection) in different years was headed by: Assoc. prof. F. Volkov (1949-1950), assoc. prof. Galyna Tyshkevych (1950-1952), assoc. prof. O. Kvitsinskyy (1952-1954).

In 1954 the forestry faculty of the Lviv Agricultural Institute was transferred to the Forest Engineering Institute; the forestry departments of two educational institutions were united into one, respectively, the combined were also two chairs of silviculture. The sole head of the Chair of Silviculture became professor. M. Gorshenin. From 1980 to 1983, the duties of the head of the department were fulfilled by assoc. professor. L. Polovnikov, from 1983 to 1988, the chair was headed by associate professor. V. Kucheravyy.

In 1988, the Chair of Silviculture was united with the Chair of Inventory, Forest Management and Geodesy. The new chair was hold by assoc. professor. M. Goroshko. In 1994, the Chair of Silviculture was restored as a separate structural unit of the forestry faculty and returned to the classical, uniquely named scientific and educational profile – the Department of Silviculture.

From 1994 to June 2015 the department was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor H. Krynytskyi. Later, to the Dezember of 2016, the duties of the head of the department were fulfilled by assoc. professor V. Pavlyuk. Since Dezember 2016 the department of Silviculture is headed by Dr. Dr. habil. V. Lavnyy and after his destination as a Vice rector from Scientific work to leading was turned Professor Hryhorii Krynytskyi.