KFRI has 17 research Departments grouped under 9 Programme Divisions as below in addition to special facilities such Research Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (RME-Unit) , Central Instrumentation Unit (CIU) and Kerala Forest Seed Centre (KFSC). Each Programme Division is headed by a Programme Coordinator (PC) and each Department by a Head of the Department (HOD). The Departments have specialized laboratories.
The Division, comprising Tree Physiology, Silviculture, and Soil Science Departments, researches seed technology, nursery practices, plantation species, sustainable forest management, eco-restoration, afforestation, erosion control, soil nutrient management, composting technology, and environmental physiology, while also monitoring weather parameters.
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The Forest Genetics and Biotechnology division, comprising Genetics, Tree Breeding, and Biotechnology departments, focuses on research areas like plus tree selection, gene flow studies, tissue culture, low-cost micropropagation, DNA barcoding, population genetics using dominant and co-dominant molecular markers, marker assisted selection, and genetic disorder diagnosis.
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The Division, comprising Forest Ecology, Botany, Wildlife, and Non-wood Forest Products, focuses on ecosystem analysis, rehabilitation, population ecology, biodiversity evaluation, traditional knowledge system analysis, biodiversity-informatics, forest inventorisation, protected areas, endangered animals, wildlife census, nursery and plantation technology.
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The Division's Forest Entomology and Forest Pathology Departments research microbes, insects, and weeds in Kerala forests, developing eco-friendly pest management technologies and monitoring insect diversity. The division focuses on plant pathogenic fungi, weed control, forest insect diversity, termites, wood-damaging insects, and bamboo post-harvest protection methods.
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The Wood Science and Technology Division focuses on developing technologies for primary and secondary processing, value-added commercial utilisation of traditional and non-conventional timbers, and offers consultancy services for wood identification, testing, manages Xylarium collections, and conducts outreach for improved utilization of wood, bamboo, rattan, and related materials.
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Forest Economics and Sociology departments of this division focus on interdisciplinary research on human behaviors in natural environments, including wildlife, fisheries, coasts, protected areas, recreation, and climate change, assessing environmental and social impacts, soil and water conservation initiatives, providing knowledge for environmental managers and policy makers.
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The Division of Forest Management Information System uses statistics, GIS, and remote sensing to meet stakeholder information needs in the forestry sector. This include creating databases, analyzing forest sectors, mapping forest cover, biodiversity mapping, and modeling growth dynamics. Forest Statistics, and GIS & Remote Sensing are the two departments.
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KFRI Extension and Training Division offers specialized training courses in tropical forestry, based on over three decades of research. Established in 2003, the division benefits forest department staff, mid-level managers, and the public through regular specialized and tailor-made training programs. The Departments under this program division are Extension Training.
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KFRI Library is a comprehensive resource center for tropical forestry, teak, bamboo, and rattan literature. It houses over 17,000 books, 10,000 back volumes of journals, online access to core journals, reference books, doctoral theses, and CAB's bibliographic database, EBSCO database of Environment, Indian Forestry Abstracts and other databases in CDs and DVDs.
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