Subkontinentální doubravy jsou společenstva světlých dubových lesů s druhově bohatým podrostem, ve kterém se vyskytuje řada druhů s kontinentálním rozšířením. Studium tohoto společenstva v posledních dvou desetiletích přineslo zajímavé poznatky o tom, jak velký vliv na současnou podobu středoevropských nížinných lesů mohl mít člověk nebo jaké druhy se mohly vyskytovat ve světlých lesích starého holocénu. and Subcontinental oak forests are open-canopy forest communities with species-rich understoreys that include many species with continental distribution ranges. Recent studies of these communities have brought interesting evidence of how the recent structure of Central European lowland forests might have been influenced by past human impact and which species could have occurred in the open-canopy forests of the Early Holocene.
A formalized classification of Czech thermophilous oak forest vegetation is presented. It is based on the Cocktail algorithm, including the formulation of a set of explicit definitions of vegetation units that are used for unequivocal assignment of relevés to defined vegetation types. Eight out of 10 traditionally distinguished associations of thermophilous oak forests were formally defined: Bohemian warm and dry oak forest (Lathyro versicoloris-Quercetum pubescentis), Moravian warm and dry oak forest (Pruno mahaleb-Quercetum pubescentis), dry-mesic oak forest on basic rocky substrates (Corno-Quercetum), dry-mesic oak forest on acidic substrates (Sorbo torminalis-Quercetum), Moravian dry oak forest on acidic substrates (Genisto pilosae-Quercetum petraeae), dry-mesic oak forest on heavy soils (Potentillo albae-Quercetum), dry-mesic oak forest on sandy soils (Carici fritschii-Quercetum roboris) and dry oak forest on loess (Quercetum pubescenti-roboris). The specific features of Cocktail classifications are discussed. The complementarity of the traditional, imperfectly formalized classifications and modern formalized classifications is stressed.
Letnění, v minulosti tradiční součást obhospodařování rybníků, se v současné době v českém rybníkářství již prakticky nevyužívá. Intenzifikace produkce ryb vede ovšem ke snižování biodiverzity rybničních ekosystémů. V roce 2007 bylo proto uskutečněno částečné letnění rybníka Nesyt v národní přírodní rezervaci Lednické rybníky. Cílem bylo vytvořit optimální podmínky pro vzácnou a často kriticky ohroženou květenu obnaženého rybničního dna a některé druhy vodního ptactva, např. celoevropsky ustupující bahňáky. and Summer drainage, a traditional fishpond management method in the past, is now hardly used in the Czech Republic. Moreover, fish production intensification has resulted in biodiversity decline and loss in many fishpond ecosystems. In 2007, the Nesyt fishpond in the Lednice Fishponds National Nature Reserve (South Moravia) was partially drained. This measure is intended to establish optimal conditions for rare and often endangered flora in the exposed fishpond bottom and some bird species declining in Europe, e.g. waders.
Bílé Karpaty Mts harbour some of the most species-rich managed grasslands in Europe, which contain a number of rare and disjunctly distributed species. Besides specific local environmental factors, the long Holocene history may explain the uniqueness of these grasslands. However, historical interpretations of the palaeoecological evidence from the region are far from unequivocal. While palaeomalacological data indicate persistence of open habitats throughout the entire Holocene, fragmentary pollen data support the hypothesis of a medieval origin of the grasslands. This paper reviews the available phytogeographical, archaeological and palaeoecological knowledge that provides indirect evidence for a prehistoric origin of the grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts. High concentration of rare heliophilous species with a disjunct distribution in the south-western part of the Bílé Karpaty Mts suggest their long-term persistence. The archaeological findings provide evidence for the existence of prehistoric human settlement in this region since the Neolithic (Middle Holocene). Direct evidence for the existence of open human-influenced habitats before medieval times, based on the results of a multi-proxy analysis (macrofossils, molluscs and pollen) of an organic sediment dated back to Roman Age, is also provided. The results indicate the existence of an ancient cultural landscape with a mosaic of open grasslands, natural forests and fields. It is concluded that the evidence presented in this paper supports the hypothesis of prehistoric, rather than a medieval origin of the species-rich grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts.
Typology of dry-mesic oak forest vegetation of Slovakia is presented. Seven vegetation types were distinguished based on a Braun-Blanquetian relevé data analysis using a TWINSPAN classification algorithm. The identified vegetation types are related to seven syntaxa traditionally used by Central European phytosociologists: dry-mesic oak forest on sandy soils – Carici fritschii-Quercetum roboris, dry-mesic oak forest on heavy soils – Potentillo albae-Quercetum, dry-mesic oak forest on basic rocky substrates – Corno-Quercetum, dry-mesic oak forest on acidic substrates – Sorbo torminalis-Quercetum, dry oak forest on loess – Quercetum pubescenti-roboris, dry-mesic oak forest on loess – Convallario-Quercetum roboris, dry-mesic forest of Turkey oak – Quercetum petraeae-cerris. Detrended correspondence analysis was used to visualize the similarity of vegetation types. Some aspects of dry-mesic oak forest ecology, distribution and dynamics in Slovakia are discussed; their general retreat due to mesophilous tree species expansion is stressed.