Fig 1 - uploaded by Milan Chytry
Content may be subject to copyright.
? Basic topographic map and historical lands of the Czech Republic. See Appendix 1 for a guide to Czech toponyms. All the maps in this paper were prepared by O. H?jek.
Source publication
This review summarizes basic information on the diversity of vegetation in the Czech Republic. It describes basic environmenal factors affecting vegetation, vegetation history since the last glacial, biomes occurring in the Czech Republic (zonal biomes of broad-leaved deciduous forest and forest-steppe, and azonal biomes of taiga and tundra), altit...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... range of the Czech Republic is 115-1602 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1). There are two major geological units in the country ( Chlupáč et al. 2011): the Bohemian Massif in the western and central part (Bohemia and western and north-western Moravia) and Western Carpathians in the eastern part (eastern and southern Moravia). The Bohemian Massif is an old mountain system created by Variscan (Hercynian) ...
Context 2
... belt at altitudes 1000-1370 m is dominated by natural spruce forests. In the northern mountain ranges the altitude of this belt increases with climate continentality from the west (Krušné Mts) to the east (Moravian-Silesian Beskids), and the belt also occurs at higher altitudes in the Šumava (Fig. 10). Deforested areas are used as low-productive meadows and ...
Context 3
... et al. 1998a). Superior competitors in zonal habitats include Carpinus betulus in the lowlands, Fagus sylvatica (and to some extent also Abies alba) at mid-altitudes and on mountains, and Picea abies at the highest altitudes. Other tree species are either confined to azonal (too wet or too dry) habitats or supported by for- est management (Fig. ...
Context 4
... moist condi- tions and occurs naturally either in areas of high-precipitation or in wet depressions. It is adapted to acidic, nutrient-poor soils such as podzol or ranker on boulder screes, but it also grows on organic soils. Due to its shallow root system spruce is vulnerable to uprooting by wind. It dominates forests in the supramontane belt (Fig. 10) and regularly occurs in mixed stands with beech and fir in the montane belt. In the warmer climate at lower alti- tudes it is competitively inferior to broad-leaved deciduous trees, therefore its natural occurrence is restricted to wet organic soils, depressions where cold air accumulates or shaded bottoms of deep valleys; in such ...
Context 5
... carrs (class Alnetea glutinosae, alliance Alnion glutinosae; Fig. 14a) are forested wetlands dominated by Alnus glutinosa with a species-poor herb layer with tall sedges, especially Carex acutiformis, C. elongata and C. riparia. They occur on organic or gleyic soils in water-logged depressions, often near fishponds and in terrestrialized oxbows, from the lowlands to submontane areas (Douda 2008). Many ...
Context 6
... alder forests (class Carpino-Fagetea, alliance Alnion incanae; Fig. 14b) occur along medium-sized streams, brooks and around springs from the lowlands to the montane belt. Forests dominated by Alnus incana form narrow galleries along strong- flowing mountain brooks with fluctuating water discharge. More extensive stands of A. incana occur on the montane floodplain of the upper Vltava river in the Šumava ...
Context 7
... floodplain forests (Fig. 14c) replace riparian alder forests on the floodplains of large lowland rivers. They are dominated by Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis and in southern Moravia also by Fraxinus angustifolia (Mezera 1956(Mezera -1958. Presence of oak in these forests may be a result of past management. In the past they were flooded almost every ...
Context 8
... and fir forests (Figs 14e & 15b) are the predominant type of natural forests in the supracolline to montane belt. At most sites there are currently monodominant stands of beech, but in the past mixed fir-beech or pure fir forests were common at mid-altitudes (Rybníček & Rybníčková 1978, Kozáková et al. 2011). ...
Context 9
... oak forests (Figs 14g & 15d) are dominated by Quercus pubescens in the driest and warmest habitats with base-rich soils, or Q. petraea in cooler habitats or on more acidic bedrock, or Q. robur on more mesic soils (Chytrý 1997, Roleček 2007. Natu- ral stands are typically confined to the upper parts of south-facing slopes; they have an open canopy, well-developed shrub layer and species-rich herb layer. ...
Context 10
... however, few such forests currently occur in that area, which is largely covered by a mosaic of arable land and conifer plantations. Pollen diagrams from the early Subatlantic (around 2000 cal. yr BP) indicate that these areas were mainly covered by fir forests with an admixture of beech and spruce while oak was rare there (Pokorný 2002b). (Fig. 15f) are common at low and middle altitudes in the Czech Republic, but most of them are forestry plantations of native Pinus sylvestris. Pine forests were com- mon in the Late Glacial. Their area was strongly reduced due to the spread of deciduous trees by the mid-Holocene, but they spread again with the increase in human activity since ...
Context 11
... pine forests of the class Vaccinio- Piceetea, alliance Festuco ovinae-Pinion sylvestris, occur on calcareous sandstone and marlstone, especially in northern Bohemia; in their herb layer there are several continental species typical of forest-steppe. Acidophilous pine forests (class Vaccinio-Piceetea, alli- ance Dicrano-Pinion sylvestris; Fig. 14i) occur in sandstone pseudokarst areas, on out- crops of igneous or metamorphic rocks in river valleys of the Bohemian Massif, and on sand dunes, however, in many cases they may have developed as a result of historical man- agement. They are characterized by frequent occurrence of dwarf shrubs (Vaccinium myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea) ...
Context 12
... forests (class Vaccinio-Piceetea, alliance Piceion abietis; Figs 14j, 15g & 15h) are very common throughout the country, but most of them are plantations of native Picea abies. Natural spruce forests occur in the supramontane belt of higher mountain ranges (Fig. 10) or at lower altitudes at the margins of bogs or in broad valleys where cold air accumulates and soil paludification occurs. They are characterized by occurrence of dwarf shrubs and bryophytes of boreo-continental distribution, but central-European mountain species, such as Calamagrostis villosa, are also common ( Sofron 1981, Jirásek ...
Context 13
... woodland (class Vaccinio-Piceetea, alliance Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinion sylvestris; Fig. 14k & 15h) occurs on the drier parts of bogs and at their margins. Their dominant trees are Betula pubescens, Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris and P. uncinata subsp. uliginosa, and their herb and moss layers consist of a mixture of dwarf shrubs, herbs and bryophytes typi- cal of either organic or mineral soils. Betula pubescens occurs especially in ...
Context 14
... three mountain groups, all located in the Sudetes Mts in the north of the Czech Republic, reach above the alpine timberline: Krkonoše, Králický Sněžník and Hrubý Jeseník (Fig. 10). There are two treeless areas above the timberline in the Krkonoše Mts, one at the headwaters of the Labe in the western Krkonoše (ca 23 km 2 ) and the other in the headwaters of the Úpa in the eastern Krkonoše (ca 32 km 2 ). In the Králický Sněžník there is one small area above the timberline (ca 0.7 km 2 ) and in the Hrubý Jeseník ...
Context 15
... in the headwaters of the Úpa in the eastern Krkonoše (ca 32 km 2 ). In the Králický Sněžník there is one small area above the timberline (ca 0.7 km 2 ) and in the Hrubý Jeseník seven small areas above the timberline with a total area of ca 10.5 km 2 (Treml & Banaš 2000). The alti- tude of the timberline in the Sudetes increases from west to east (Fig. 10), which may be partly due to the increasing continentality of the climate towards the east and partly due to competition with krummholz (Pinus mugo), which is present in the Krkonoše but absent in the two eastern ranges. Currently the mean timberline altitude is 1207 m in the western Krkonoše, 1245 in the eastern Krkonoše, 1305 m in the ...
Context 16
... with Pinus mugo on mineral soils (class Roso pendulinae-Pinetea mugo, alliance Pinion mugo; Fig. 16a) occurs only in the Krkonoše and Šumava Mts. It is absent in the Králický Sněžník and Hrubý Jeseník Mts, except for the recent plantations, and is not recorded there even in the fossil charcoal from the last 2000 years ( Novák et al. 2010) or in written historical sources (Jeník & Hampel 1992). On the Czech side of the Šumava Pinus ...
Context 17
... and subalpine grasslands and heathlands above the timberline in the Sudetes are dominated by oligotrophic grasses adapted to acidic soils (Jeník 1961, Krahulec 1990a, Soukupová et al. 1995. Exposed wind-swept summit areas are covered by open grasslands of Festuca supina or heathlands of Calluna vulgaris (Fig. 16b), both with the boreo-alpine species Carex bigelowii and Juncus trifidus, endemic Hieracium species and arcto-alpine lichens. These grasslands belong to the class Juncetea trifidi, alliance Juncion trifidi and heathlands to class Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, alliance Loiseleurio procumbentis-Vaccinion. At less exposed sites protected by ...
Context 18
... of cirques species-rich Nardus stricta grasslands occur (class Calluno-Ulicetea, alliance Nardion strictae). Vacci- nium myrtillus heathlands extend over large areas at sites with deep snowpacks on the lee- ward slopes, around the timberline and in open spaces among Pinus mugo bushes (class Calluno-Ulicetea, alliance Genisto pilosae-Vaccinion; Fig. 16c). On restricted outcrops of base-rich rocks (e.g. marble or porphyry) in the cirques of the Krkonoše and Hrubý Jeseník Mts, patches of species-rich basiphilous grassland with Agrostis alpina and Festuca versicolor occur (class Elyno-Seslerietea, alliance Agrostion ...
Context 19
... grasslands and deciduous forests (Jeník 1961, Kočí 2001. Vegetation of tall broad-leaved dicots, such as Adenostyles alliariae, Cicerbita alpina and Veratrum album subsp. lobelianum, occurs at moist nutrient-rich sites in the subalpine belt, e.g. at seepage sites, along creeks and bottoms of cirques (alli- ance Adenostylion alliariae; Fig. 16d). Stands of tall ferns, mainly Athyrium distenti- folium and locally also Dryopteris filix-mas, are common on boulder screes in the cirques (alliance Dryopterido filicis-maris-Athyrion ...
Context 20
... natural lakes, especially in the lowlands, vanished as a result of natural terrestrialization in the Holocene or were drained by humans, mainly in the 19th century (Břízová 2009). However, a typical feature of the Czech landscape is fishponds, shallow water reservoirs built from the 11th century onwards for fish farming (Fig 16e). The main species farmed has always been common carp (Cyprinus carpio), which requires warm and shallow water. ...
Context 21
... rently there are about 25,000 fishponds, the largest with an area of almost 500 ha ( Čítek et al. 1998). They are concentrated mainly in the basins of southern Bohemia around Blatná, České Budějovice and Třeboň, in the Ostravská Basin in north-eastern Moravia and other, smaller basins, as well as in flat areas in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands (Fig. 17). Var- ious types of aquatic and wetland vegetation occur in fishponds (Dykyjová & Květ 1978) and many of them are of high conservation importance ( Chytil et al. 1999). Other types of wetland habitats are small oxbow lakes on floodplains and water bodies in abandoned quarries or loam, sand or gravel ...
Context 22
... of fishponds, although it can also be found on fluvial muddy deposits along lowland rivers and in other habitats including man-made ones. Traditional fishpond management included periodical summer draining at intervals of a few years, aimed at increasing pond produc- tivity, supressing fish parasites and reducing productive pond vegetation (Fig. 16f). Spe- cialized annual wetland species germinate in the mud at the bottoms of drained fishponds which remain saturated with water or very shallowly flooded for a period of several days or a few weeks after draining. In addition to the type of substrate in the bottom of the pond and climate, the species composition of this vegetation ...
Context 23
... was applied in most fishponds ( Čítek et al. 1998, Šumberová 2003). Fishponds are rarely drained nowadays, but there is suitable habitat for annual wet- land herbs in fish-storage ponds ( Šumberová et al. 2006). These are small ponds, often bounded by concrete walls, which are used for short-term storage of marketable fish and then drained (Fig. 16g). There are usually more species per unit area in fish-storage ponds than ordinary fishponds, but due to a stronger human impact, the former also contain more alien species ( Šumberová et al. ...
Context 24
... that are, for different reasons, unsuitable for Phragmites (Ellenberg & Leuschner 2010). For example, Schoenoplectus lacustris dominates in deeper water, Typha angustifolia and T. latifolia in nutrient-rich habitats the bottoms of which are frequently exposed so that they can quickly regenerate from seed, Glyceria maxima in hypertrophic wetlands (Fig. 16h), Acorus calamus (alien to the Czech Republic) and Sparganium erectum in frequently disturbed littoral habitats, and shorter stands of Equisetum fluviatile occur in places where there is a deep layer of organic sediment on the bottom. Dominance stands of the above-mentioned species are included in the alliance Phragmition australis. In ...
Context 25
... areas in the Czech Republic, with the exception of calcareous fens, which are also found in the lowlands, especially in areas of central and eastern Bohemia with Cretaceous marlstone. Another exception is the basins around Doksy, Cheb and Třeboň (see the Taiga biome description above), which contain different types of acidic fens and bogs (Fig. ...
Context 26
... vegetation (class Montio-Cardaminetea; Fig. 18a) with specialized short- growing vascular plants and abundant bryophytes occurs in small patches at seepage sites. Main factors determining its species composition are altitude, site insolation and calcium carbonate precipitation resulting in tufa formation. The most common type of spring vege- tation occurs at soft-water seepage sites ...
Context 27
... fens with short sedges (Carex davalliana, C. flacca, C. flava, C. nigra and C. panicea) and several species of specialist herbs and mosses such as Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Campylium stellatum (alliance Caricion davallianae) occur mainly in the Carpathian flysch zone and in the lowland areas with Cretaceous marlstone in eastern Bohemia (Fig. 18b), however, in the latter area many sites have been drained. Other fen types occur mostly at higher altitudes (Fig. 18c). At some mid-altitude sites, especially in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, fen vegetation contains a mixture Chytrý: Vegetation of the Czech Republic of calcicolous and acidophilous species, including calcium-tolerant ...
Context 28
... specialist herbs and mosses such as Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Campylium stellatum (alliance Caricion davallianae) occur mainly in the Carpathian flysch zone and in the lowland areas with Cretaceous marlstone in eastern Bohemia (Fig. 18b), however, in the latter area many sites have been drained. Other fen types occur mostly at higher altitudes (Fig. 18c). At some mid-altitude sites, especially in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, fen vegetation contains a mixture Chytrý: Vegetation of the Czech Republic of calcicolous and acidophilous species, including calcium-tolerant peat mosses (e.g. Sphagnum contortum, S. teres and S. warnstorfii; alliance Sphagno warnstorfii-Tomen- typnion ...
Context 29
... vegetation is moderately rich in bases, with a substrate of pH 5-6, and is usually rather rich in species. It consists of short sedges, grasses, dicots and a rich moss layer with Aulacomnium palustre, Sarmentypnum exannulatum, Straminergon stramineum and peat mosses, e.g. Sphagnum palustre and S. subsecundum (alliance Caricion canescenti-nigrae; Fig. 16i). Acidic fens (transitional mires) at mid-altitude sites, which are very poor in calcium despite being fed by ground water rather than rain water, support species-poor vegetation of sedges (Carex canescens, C. echinata, C. lasiocarpa, C. nigra and C. rostrata) and mosses (Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum fallax, S. flexuosum and S. ...
Context 30
... (class Oxycocco-Sphagnetea; Fig. 18d) are the most advanced mire type devel- oped through the process of autogenic succession. As bogs are elevated above the adjacent terrain they are entirely fed by rainwater (ombrotrophic mires) and extremely poor in nutrients and bases. They are dominated by specialist peat mosses (e.g. Sphagnum fallax, S. flexuosum, S. magellanicum, ...
Context 31
... the Doksy region and Třeboňská Basin, it is Pinus sylvestris, while in the mountain areas (but also in the Třeboňská Basin) it is the central-European endemic P. uncinata subsp. uliginosa. At higher altitudes of some of the Czech mountain ranges (Novohradské, Šumava, Krušné, Jizerské and Krkonoše Mts), shrubby Pinus mugo becomes dominant in bogs (Fig. 16j). A rare type of bog vegetation includes suboceanic mires with Trichophorum cespitosum and Sphagnum papillosum (alliance Oxycocco palustris-Ericion tetralicis); they occur in the Jizerské Mts, the most precipitation-rich area in the Czech Republic. Unlike most other bogs in the Czech Republic, they do not have a hummock-and-hollow ...
Context 32
... most common meadow type in the Czech Republic is mesic meadows dominated by the tall grass Arrhenatherum elatius (alliance Arrhenatherion elatioris; Fig. 19a), which occur from lowland to montane belt, although at higher altitudes the abundance of Arrhenatherum decreases while shorter grasses become dominant, in particular Agrostis capillaris, Festuca rubra and Trisetum flavescens. These meadows are usually cut twice a year with occasional aftermath grazing. At high altitudes, especially in ...
Context 33
... Bohemia, but they can also be found on raised areas on the floodplains of large lowland rivers. However, in the last few decades the area of these meadows has been strongly reduced due to eutrophication and abandonment. Wet meadows with natural fertilizer input through spring flooding are divided into the alli- ances Deschampsion cespitosae (Fig. 19b) and Calthion palustris. The former includes meadows in broad floodplains, which are flooded in spring but dry out in summer, espe- cially along lowland rivers such as the Labe, lower Dyje and lower Morava (Balátová- Tuláčková 1968). These meadows are dominated by grasses, in particular Alopecurus pratensis, and used to be cut three ...
Context 34
... table remains high in summer and the soil is wet all year round. These meadows are dominated by tall dicot herbs, especially different species of Cirsium, depending on soil chemistry (Hájek & Hájková 2004). They used to be cut two times a year. Abandoned meadows of Calthion palustris are usually dominated by the tall forb Filipendula ulmaria (Fig. ...
Context 35
... a low pH. Species-poor sand grasslands dominated by the subatlantic grass Corynephorus canescens, with abundant mosses and lichens, occur mainly in the Doksy region of northern Bohemia, along the Labe river and in the sand area near the town of Hodonín in south-eastern Moravia (class Koelerio-Corynephoretea, alliance Corynephorion canescentis; Fig. 19e & 20d). The latter area also hosts species-rich conti- nental (Pannonian) sand-steppe vegetation dominated by Festuca psammophila subsp. dominii and Stipa borysthenica and containing several species with a continental distribu- tion (class Festucetea vaginatae, alliance Festucion vaginatae). In some areas, especially in the lowland and ...
Context 36
... species such as Fumana procumbens, Melica ciliata, Poa badensis and Teucrium montanum (alliance Bromo pannonici-Festucion pallentis). Festuca pallens grasslands are confined to south- facing slopes, whereas north-facing slopes on limestone outcrops are covered by Sesleria caerulea grasslands (alliance Diantho lumnitzeri-Seslerion; Fig. 19g). Sesleria caerulea and some other species growing in the same grasslands (e.g. Biscutella laevigata and Saxifraga paniculata) are typical of the montane to subalpine belt of the limestone Alps and Carpathians. Their occurrence in the colline belt in northern and central Bohemia and southern Moravia is probably a relict of a broader ...
Context 37
... plants in mown semi-dry grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts in south-eastern Moravia is much higher than that in similar grasslands in adjacent areas and other vegetation types both in that area and beyond (Klimeš 1997(Klimeš , 2008 Wilson et al. 2012), all from the Čertoryje National Nature Reserve in the south-western part of the Bílé Karpaty (Fig. 19h), have been reported as world records of local species richness per given areas ( Wilson et al. 2012). This extraordinary species rich- ness probably results from a combination of several factors conducive to high species rich- ness: (i) no extreme values of climatic or soil factors, which is suitable for many species of the regional ...
Similar publications
Here we present data on a study of the species composition and structure of borokotóh, a habitat associated with central Amazonian seasonally black‐water flooded forests. Borokotóh appears never to have been specifically studied before, being mentioned only once or twice in the literature (and then not under this name). This is the first report on...
Citations
... The geology of the forest areas ( Figure 1) impacts their vegetation and soil. The vegetation is also influenced by human activities, and past bio-geographical processes [15,16]. The climate is described as temperate oceanic through temperate continental [17], with continental climate increasing from west towards east and down lowlands from the mountains. ...
... Djodjic et al. [45] found geology to have influenced soil properties and nutrient concentrations. For example, Doupovské Mts. is in a region of the volcanic complex of the Bohemian massif where basaltic rocks dominate [15,46]. Basalts are rich in Ca and Mg [47]. ...
... Basalts are rich in Ca and Mg [47]. The forest areas within the Moravia Region of the Czech Republic, such as South Moravian Valleys, Moravian-silesian Beskids and Hostýnskovsetínské Hills and Javorníky have alluvial soils and flysch [15]. Flysch is a bedrock of weakly and strongly weathered sandstones, clays and marls [48,49]. ...
Base cations have declined within European forests due to leaching, accelerated by atmospheric acid deposition. This study aims at predicting the spatial distribution of pseudototal content of Ca, Mg, and K for coniferous, broadleaved and mixed forest stands. A harmonised database of about 7000 samples from the top mineral layer of 0–30 cm from the entire forest areas of the Czech Republic was used. A regression kriging model was used for spatial prediction of the content of the elements. The influence of the covariates used for the prediction was assessed using generalized additive models for location scale and shape (GAMLSS). The variance explained by the model was best for Ca with the R2 of 0.32, the R2 for Mg was 0.30, and the R2 for K was 0.26. Model fitting assessed by the ratio of performance to inter-quartile distance (RPIQ) showed K as the best fit with a value of 1.12, followed by Mg with the value 0.87, and Ca with 0.25. Ca exhibited the best prediction fit for the GAMLSS, compared with K and Mg, based on their AIC matrix values. The predicted spatial distribution in this study provides information for policy and will provide information for the sustainable management of forests.
... Furthermore, a database including 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values from Moravian human, geological and animal samples was performed (see Online Resource SI 1: Table 3) and grouped according to the geographical and geological formations where the samples were taken (excluding those coming from migratory animals) ( Fig. 3) (see Online Resource SI 1: Table 4). These formations included the Tertiary and Quaternary soils from the Carpathian Foredeep, the Ždánický les mountains (corresponding to the beginning of the Carpathians), the Quaternary soils east of the Ždánický les, the Bohemian Massif Paleozoic and the Bohemian Massif Proterozoic (Chytrý, 2012). To work with as much accuracy as possible, only the values from geological samples, snails and Sus Scrofa (the domestic animal more likely to be less mobile) were ultimately considered (see Online Resource SI 2: Fig. 1). ...
This research combines Strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and Oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope analysis to challenge the prevailing interpretation of patrilocal exogamic practices among eastern European Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) communities. Patrilocality has been considered the key factor influencing the mobility patterns of central Europe’s first farmers (c. 5500–4900 cal. BC), especially in the south-eastern Moravian region (Czech Republic). Focusing our attention on both male and female tooth enamel samples from cemeteries, settlement graves and small clusters of graves, this paper reassesses the correlation between mobility, biological sex, and funerary practices. This task is accomplished by establishing a new isotopic footprint using new ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data, as well as significantly increasing the number of sampled individuals for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O. The outcome of this research contributes to a better understanding of the mobility patterns among early farmers in central Europe, challenging existing theories and providing new insights into their social and cultural dynamics.
... Broad-leaved forests (code 311), mixed forests (code 313) and transitional woodland-shrub (code 324) were the assessed near-natural forest habitats using CORINE. Coniferous forests (code 312) were included in the plots above 1000 m a.s.l. in elevation where these forests represent natural forest vegetation (Chytrý, 2012). Using NATURA 2000, we added the area of all natural forest habitats (Chytrý et al., 2010). ...
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are major causes of the ongoing decline of epiphytic and epixylic lichen species in temperate forests throughout Europe. We investigated how extant species richness and composition of epiphytic and epixylic lichen communities in ten hot-spots of lichen diversity in the Czech Republic reflected the occurrence and properties of potentially suitable microhabitats and habitats. At each hot-spot, we surveyed a pair of 1-ha square plots, one in (over-)mature managed and the second in unmanaged forest. In total, we recorded 513 epiphytic and epixylic lichen species which represent a substantial part of lichen biota in Central Europe. Species richness and composition of lichen communities were explained by microhabitat heterogeneity, and also by the area of near-natural forest habitats (habitat extent) at the landscape scale. In addition, lichen species richness and number of red-listed species were explained by a categorial variable distinguishing mature managed and unmanaged plots, used as a proxy of temporal continuity of natural succession. This finding illustrates that temporal continuity of natural succession in unmanaged forests likely had an extra stimulus for lichen communities that may not be reflected by observed aspects of forest habitats. Hence, we confirmed indispensable positive effects of (micro)habitat heterogeneity, and spatial and temporal continuity for preserved hot-spots of lichen diversity in Central Europe. Due to generally slow colonization-extinction dynamics of epiphytic and epixylic lichens we call for strengthening microhabitat heterogeneity, and the spatial and temporal continuity of European temperate forests at the landscape scale.
... Forest-related predictors were total forest area, percentage of forest area, percentage of conifers, and percentage of pine (Pinus L. spp.) within each district [50]. Pine was considered the most flammable tree species in the study area [60]; it usually grows under dry conditions, produces resinous and easily combustible debris, and older stands have a In the absence of humans, mixed beech (Fagus sylvestris L.) forests would dominate most of the Czech Republic, with oak (Quercus L.)-dominated deciduous forests in the lowlands, and coniferous forests with spruce (Picea L.) at higher altitudes [49]. Because of the intensive forest management practiced since the nineteenth century, the current forest composition consists predominantly of Picea abies L. (Karst.) ...
Citation: Berčák, R.; Holuša, J.; Trombik, J.; Resnerová, K.; Hlásny, T.
... It covers more than 300 km 2 of continuous forest, mostly between 270 and 300 m a.s.l., with only a few volcanic hills rising above 500 m a.s.l. The region is formed by Cretaceous sediments with sand deposits and is characterized by poor soil fertility (Chytry, 2012;Czech Geological Survey, 2023). The region experiences a moderately warm and dry climate (Vondráková et al., 2013) with an average air temperature of 7.2 • C during the breeding season (April -August; CHMI, 2023) and average annual precipitation of 635 mm. ...
... The region is formed by the Bohemian Massif. The prevailing soil type is the cambisol (Chytry 2012, Czech Geological Survey 2023. The highest points in the area contain Cambrian conglomerates and sandstones dominated by quartz. ...
... The hypothesis of an anthropogenic origin of oak-hornbeam woodlands at least in a part of their current distribution range has been more or less accepted by vegetation ecologists (Ellenberg, 1996;Chytrý, 2012;Boublík et al., 2013;Novák et al., 2023). However, a straightforward extrapolation of vegetation studies to large scales would not be accurate because of a scarcity of data and because the intensity of past human involvement is hard to ascertain. ...
Historical woodland management practices like coppicing and grazing have formed the diversity and structure of oak-hornbeam woodlands. We analysed large-scale, high-resolution spatial data on the distribution of woodland communities in Czechia to find out whether past human impacts influenced the distribution of oak-hornbeam woodlands in present-day landscapes. We tested the relation of oak-hornbeam woodlands to the past and cur rent settlement distribution pattern, woodland continuity since about 1840 and distance to the woodland edge, on top of natural environmental predictors, using generalized additive mixed-effects models (GAMM).
... The spatial and temporal relationships between the fossil pollen record and evidence of past human settlements in the Czech Republic, central Europe (Fig. 2), for which there are digital large-scale datasets, were studied. This country is dominated by the temperate forest biome, but the lowlands also contain biomes of hemiboreal taiga and forest-steppe biomes; and in the mountains encompass vegetation of coniferous spruce forests, and limited areas of alpine tundra at the highest elevations (Chytrý 2012). Currently, forests cover 34% of the area, 57% is covered by agricultural land and 6% is covered by urban areas. ...
Tracing human-vegetation interactions that occurred in the past has always been one of the key topics of paleoecology. Here we use the pollen and archaeological databases available for the Czech Republic to determine links between individual pollen taxa and archaeological data and search for the spatial scales of comparability. The datasets include 1,500 pollen samples and 65,000 archaeological components covering the period from 12,000 to 700 cal. BP , divided into time windows of 250 years. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to measure the link between pollen and archaeological data at different sites. Using generalized additive models for the whole dataset, we explained the variance of pollen by archaeologically registered human activities and by two environmental variables . The first was the overall trend for each taxon in the Holocene representing the long-term dynamics of the species, the second was the elevation of pollen sites. Both factors affect species representation over the whole period studied or/and the area and cannot be statistically separated from human-induced changes. Both decrease the indicative strength of anthropogenic pollen; however, elevation did so more than the Holocene trend, since past human activities and elevation are strongly correlated and account for the first main gradient. The pollen taxa with a positive correlation with the level of past human activity, indicated by all methods, are: Plantago lanceolata, Artemisia and Amaranthaceae, re-sprouting edible trees that tolerate fire and pruning (Quercus) and pioneer trees (Pinus). Probability indicating the presence or absence of archaeological evidence when pollen of these species is present or absent is high (0.56–0.76). However, explained variability by the full model is low (0.01–0.09). Fagus, Carpinus and Abies expand during the late-successional stages after human disturbance, therefore their relationships to past human activity are negative when considering a 250-year time window. Secale does not correlate at the level of individual sites due to its late appearance during the Holocene. We ascribe the weak relationship between archaeological data and pollen of Cerealia to inconsistent determinations. The radius of comparability of pollen and archaeological evidence is around tens of kilometres due to the spatial resolution of archaeology is the area of a parish, but lower for herbaceous plants (15–20 km) than for trees (30–40 km). This critical comparison delimits overlaps and gaps between widely-used assumptions and data-based evidence.
... In the absence of humans, mixed beech (Fagus sylvestris L.) forests would dominate most of the Czech Republic, with oak (Quercus L.)-dominated deciduous forests in the lowlands, and coniferous forests with spruce (Picea L.) at higher altitudes (Chytrý 2012). Because of the intensive forest management practiced since the nineteenth century, the current forest composition consists predominantly of Picea abies L. . ...
Background
Central Europe is not a typical wildfire region; however, an increasingly warm and dry climate and model-based projections indicate that the number of forest fires are increasing. This study provides new insights into the drivers of forest fire occurrence in the Czech Republic, during the period 2006 to 2015, by focusing on climate, land cover, and human activity factors.
Results
The average annual number of forest fires during the study period was 728, with a median burned area of 0.01 ha. Forest fire incidence showed distinct spring (April) and summer (July to August) peaks,with median burned areas of 0.04 ha and 0.005 ha, respectively. Relationships between the predictors (climate data, forest-related data, socioeconomic data, and landscape-context data) and the number of forest fires in individual municipality districts were analyzed using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) on three time scales (annually, monthly, and during the summer season). The constructed GAMs explained 48.7 and 53.8% of forest firevariability when fire occurrence was analyzedon a monthly scale and during thesummer season, respectively. On an annual scale, the models explained 71.4% of the observed forest fire variability. The number of forest fires was related to the number of residents and overnight tourists in the area. The effect of climate was manifested on monthly and summer season scales only, with warmer and drier conditions associated with higher forest fire frequency. A higher proportion of conifers and the length of the wildland–urban interface were also positively associated with forest fire occurrence.
Conclusions
Forest fire occurrence was influenced by a combination of climatic, forest-related, and social activity factors. The effect of climate was most pronounced on a monthly scale, corresponding with the presence of two distinct seasonal peaks of forest fire occurrence. The significant effect of factors related to human activity suggests that measures to increasepublic awareness about fire risk and targeted activity regulation are essential in controlling the risk of fire occurrence in Central Europe. An increasing frequency of fire-conducive weather, forest structure transformations due to excessive tree mortality, and changing patterns of human activity on the landscape require permanent monitoring and assessment of possible shifts of forest fire risk.
... The range of values published by Mikeska and Prausová (2013) seems to be significantly imprecise (EQ = 26-39), namely due to the lower interval boundary in the transition towards the 2 nd FVZ. A lower elevation line of natural presence/absence of beech is difficult to identify in the field because of intensive human activities and the alteration of the natural special composition (Chytrý 2012). ...
The Ellenberg quotient (EQ) is a climate index defined as a ratio of the hottest month's temperature and the average annual precipitation sum. The quotient indirectly expresses the relationship between climate and vegetation , and its application is related to the ecological niche of Fagus sp. Although the quotient was curated on the grounds of field research primarily on German vegetation, the possibilities of its utilisation are not limited to the Central European region. The objective of this study is (i) to compare the EQ values calculated for the forest vegetation zones in the Czech Republic with the published data using the ecological niche of Fagus sylvatica; and (ii) to compare the new EQ-based vertical model with field empirical mapping. The study area is the Czech Republic, Central Europe. We used climate data from 1970-2000 and the data of the National Forest Inventory, 2 nd cycle (2011-2015), representing an objective data design. Geospatial analytic methods, machine learning (boosting), and verification through statistical testing were performed. The results indicate higher EQ values between the two most substantial spatial frames-the Hercynicum and Carpaticum regions. By comparing empirical mapped units to their climatic potential (in the EQ), a match was found only within the Carpaticum region. The study presents a concretisation of the general climate index for a specific region, adds to the knowledge about the Fagus ecological niche in context with the Central European vegetation, and also points to the EQ's potential for evaluating the concept of vertical differentiation of forest communities , as well as a possible prediction tool for the vegetation migration in context with climate change.
... The study area is located in South Moravia (Czech Republic) and is approximately delimited by the boundaries of the forest-steppe biome in this area (Chytrý 2012). Foreststeppe biome occurs here in the rain shadow of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. ...
... Foreststeppe biome occurs here in the rain shadow of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Long-term annual precipitation drops below 500 mm/year in places (Zíková 2009), while average annual temperatures exceed 8.25 °C (Chytrý 2012). The region represents a north-western tip of the zonal forest-steppe biome of the Pannonian Basin, adjacent to the forest-steppe of the eastern Austria and southern Slovakia and Hungary (Wendelberger 1954;Martinovský and Kolbek 1984;Chytrý et al. 2022). ...
Approaches to the classification of thermophilous fringe and tall-herb vegetation in Central Europe vary in many respects. In this study, we provide new vegetation-plot data from South Moravia (Czech Republic), develop a new classification based on differences in overall species composition and compare it with recently used classifications. A dataset of 169 relevés fulfilling the condition of at least 50% cover of tall herbs or lower broad-leaved herbs characteristic of fringe vegetation was classified into six informal vegetation types, four of which may be considered equivalent to phytosociological associations. The most mesophilous and species-rich type Potentilla alba-Laserpitium latifolium is distributed on deep loamy soils developed over the Carpathian flysh, mainly in the White Carpathians. Potentilla argentea-Geranium sanguineum is the most heliophilous type, including acidophilous species and occurring on siliceous rock outcrops along the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif. Type Vincetoxicum hirundinaria-Origanum vulgare is confined to hard base-rich rocks and occurs mainly in the limestone areas of the Moravian Karst and the Pavlov Hills. Type Geranium sanguineum-Peucedanum cervaria occurs mainly on deep calcareous soils developed over loess and Tertiary claystones in the central part of the South Moravian forest-steppe. The floristic classification of the thermophilous fringe and tall-herb vegetation in South Moravia yielded ecologically and geographically well characterized units that simultaneously differ from dry grasslands by the dominance of herbs, mainly tall herbs. It may serve as a model for future revisions of the national syntaxonomic classification scheme of fringe and tall-herb vegetation in the Czech Republic.
