Analysis of the contents and organization of pigments in leaves of more than 60 plant species from different natural habitats revealed that the majority of plants from extreme regions had a low pigment content. The arctic plants contained 40-60 % less chlorophyll (Chl) than the same species in the temperate zone. The desert plants had an extremely low pigment content. Owing to high amount of total carotenoids (Car), the arctic and high montane plants had the lowest ratios Chl/Car. The part of Chl belonging to light-harvesting (LH)-antenna varied less than the total amounts. The majority of investigated arctic plants had a smaller amount of Chl and larger part of it in the LH-antenna than plants of the temperate zone. The pigment apparatus of high montane plants was distinguished by very high Car content probably serving as protectant against photodamage: in their photosystems 1 and 2 there was 4-5 times more p-carotene than in the plants of other zones.
Adult education as a part of lifelong learning is nowadays the topic emphasised in all documents concerning educational policy, employment policy, and human resources development in the Czech Republic. Older empirical data indicate, however, that the participation of the Czech adult population in programmes of adult learning is not very common. The aim of this article, which is based on a special representative survey, 'Adult Learning 2005', is to confront how far Czech reality is from the ideal concepts of 'lifelong learning' and a 'learning society'. The authors pursue three questions: 1) To what extent is it true that education in the Czech Republic is a lifelong affair? 2) Does education of this kind occur on both a formal and non-formal level? 3) Do the Czechs engage in lifelong education, regardless of age, attained level of education, gender, and occupational status? Empirical data reveal that, despite the fact that Czech educational authorities give formal support to adult education, reality 'in the field' is somewhat different. Education in the Czech Republic is still not lifelong; if it exists it occurs mainly within the framework of non-formal education, and only higher educated people and those with some experience in adult education participate in it.