scholarly journals Different types of damage in mountain forest stands of the Czech Republic

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 533-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lomský ◽  
V. Šrámek
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
Health State ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Damage Development ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Spruce Stands

Forests in the Czech Republic are highly influenced by the antropogenous factors &ndash; those are particularly air pollution, pollutant deposition, soil degradation, change of the natural forest ecosystems, and also global climate changes. Significant damages due to air pollution are visible already 50 years (the Ore Mts. region). Since 1989 the sulphur emission has decreased significantly. By the end of 90ies SO<sub>2</sub> emission was reduced in nearly 90%. In the 1990&ndash;1995 period, the change of air pollution situation in mountain regions resulted into the spruce stands condition improvement, and good progress of transitory stands (birch, blue spruce, mountain pine, alder etc.). Following development was not that ideal, however. Since 1995, various symptoms of damage have been observed, caused by the complex of factors. During the winter 1995/1996, within the whole region of the Czech Republic, reddening of the last needle year class of spruce was observed in the altitude over 700 m. These symptoms were the most visible in the eastern part of the Ore Mts., where 3&ndash;4 needle year classes were affected, or even tree decay observed. An acute damage was caused by direct impact of the high SO<sub>2</sub> concentrations. The average defoliation was over 60% in stands assessed. About 12,578 ha of spruce stands were damaged, 1,300 ha of them has completely died. The rest have regenerated successfully in following period. After following winter, in spring 1997, the damage of transitory birch stands was observed in all the northern mountain regions. In the Ore Mts. ridge birch did not flush at all, the leaf lost was observed in a vast area with variable intensity in altitudes over 800 m above sea level during the springtime. In total 3,400 ha of birch stands was damaged, in 1998 it was nearly 5,428 ha. Birch completely died at about 2,550 ha, in following period the damage development stagnated. Similar damage of smaller extent has been observed also in other parts of the country, in higher elevations, situated above the inversion layer during the spring months. After winter 1999, vast damage of the spruce stands, manifested in yellowing of older needle year classes, and gradual needle drying and fall, affecting the stand of all age categories, was observed in the western part of the Ore Mts. but also in other regions. Yellowing was observed on 2,000 ha in 1999, next year it was 6,500 ha, and in 2001 about 9,000 ha was damaged within the Ore Mts. A new type of damage has been observed in the&nbsp;Orlick&eacute; hory Mts. ridge caused again by the stressing factors complex after the winter 2001/2002. Nitrogen deposition seems to be one of major problem. The damage presented shows that in spite of significant lowering of air pollution load the forest stands health state in air polluted regions is not stabilized.

scholarly journals Changes in the nutrition and health status of young Norway spruce stands in the Krkonoše Mts. in a 17-year period

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 344-354
Author(s):  
Novotný Radek ◽  
Lomský Bohumír ◽  
Šrámek Vít
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Height Increment ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Future Health ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
N Nutrition ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Spruce Needles

For 17 Norway spruce stands located in the Krkonoše Mts. in the Czech Republic a long-term assessment of defoliation, height increment, foliage concentration of nutrients (N, P, Ca, K, Mg) and stress elements (S, F) was carried out. The results show a decrease of defoliation and a slight increase of height increment, which occur in accordance with the decreasing concentration of sulphur in spruce needles. However, neither sulphur concentration nor height increment trends are significant, suggesting that both the main pollution abatement and the growth resumption took place already in the 1990’s. During the late 1990’s the average spruce defoliation was greater than 35%, while since 2007 it has fluctuated between 18 and 25%, which corresponds with the figures for the forest stands located in the other regions of the Czech Republic. The evaluation of single nutrient concentrations detected occasional deficiencies of P and Mg at individual plots. The good N nutrition (&gt; 15 mg N·g<sup>–1</sup>) in combination with a significantly decreasing trend of P, K and Ca concentrations in Norway spruce needles may potentially constitute a problem in regard to both the future health and the stability of forest stands in the studied region.

scholarly journals Acidification of forest soils in the Hrubý Jeseník region

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Reininger ◽  
P. Fiala ◽  
T. Samek
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Soil Horizons ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Mg Content

The Hrub&yacute; Jesen&iacute;k Natural Forest Region (NFR) is a border mountain territory which belongs to the areas most heavily impacted by air pollution in the Czech Republic. This paper compares results for soil properties investigated in non-limed forest stands during the years 1994 to 2007. Differences between the 2007 and 2000/01 surveys concerning Al, Ca and Mg content and pH in particular soil horizons are depicted using kriged maps. This means of interpreting laboratory analysis results allowed us to highlight the most endangered NFR areas from an acidification standpoint. Evaluation of results for Al, Ca and Mg content, their available forms and pH values in the Hrub&yacute; Jesen&iacute;k NFR in the 1994&ndash;2007 period revealed the presence of an ongoing acidification process. The southern (Praděd region) and northwestern areas (Kr&aacute;lick&yacute; Sněžn&iacute;k region) may be singled out as the most depleted.

scholarly journals  Monitoring of defoliation in forest stands of the Czech Republic and its comparison with results of defoliation monitoring in other European countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Fabiánek ◽  
K. Hellebrandová ◽  
M. Čapek
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Icp Forests ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring

&nbsp;As a part of International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effect on Forests (ICP Forests), defoliation of forest stands has been assessed in the Czech Republic since 1986. Defoliation is one of the principal parameters reflecting the health of forest stands that is assessed on monitoring plots within this programme. Monitoring plots are distributed evenly according to woodiness of the area in a regular schematic network all over the Czech Republic. Even though there has been a long-term reduction of air pollution in most European countries, forest ecosystems reflect these changes with some delay. In the Czech Republic the trend of total defoliation of coniferous and deciduous forest stands has been increasing very moderately in the last 10 years. This trend appears to be partially analogous with some neighbouring countries. Compared to the whole of Europe the trend of defoliation of broadleaves is very similar, but differences have occurred in conifers in the last 10 years. There are significant differences in defoliation levels among the particular countries; in this comparison the Czech Republic is classified as one of the worst. Differences in these levels are very evident especially among the neighbouring countries. To partly eliminate these differences, regular international calibration courses are organized. &nbsp;

scholarly journals Prediction of profitability of topworking in older apple orchards under contemporary economic conditions of the Czech Republic  

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Blažek ◽  
V. Falta ◽  
R. Vávra ◽  
V. Beneš
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Economic Effect ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Health State ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Fresh Market ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Good Health State

: In the Czech Republic, there is still a predominance of obsolete apple orchards that were established more than 15 years ago and that are not profitable under contemporary conditions. Typical features of these orchards are low or medium tree densities, freely growing semi-standard trees or hedgerows on semi-dwarf, or sometimes also on vigorous, rootstocks. The farmers are not always in a position to completely renovate them, and therefore they are interested in their topworking. The present paper studied the effectiveness of this measure under the current economic and market conditions of this country, using 3 types of orchards with different spacings and rootstocks and 5 groups of tree densities. Four cultivars were chosen as examples of different starting statuses for the modelling of subsequent development in three time horizons and for the prediction of profitability of this treatment. The profitability is based on an increase in farmer prices for cultivars that are presently recommended for replacement of the older ones according to the recent development of these prices on the fresh market. In the case of topworking for Spartan cv., an economic return of the measure can be expected at the earliest after 8 years of running the treated orchard. The greatest increase in profit can be achieved in orchards on the rootstock M 9. Nevertheless, with the decline of tree numbers in the orchard, or with the increase in tree losses, the general economic effectiveness of topworking notably falls. In the case of trees on the rootstock MM 106, this measure can have an economic effect only if at least 80% of the trees is in a good health state and it is presumed that the orchard will be used for another 10 years at least. A list of recommended cultivars to be used for replacement of the old ones is given.

Evaluation of the European method for mapping lichen diversity (LDV) as an indicator of environmental stress in the Czech Republic

Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Svoboda
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Landscape Ecology ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Lichen Diversity ◽  
Bohemian Karst ◽  
European Method

AbstractThe European method for mapping lichen diversity (LDV) as an indicator of environmental stress/quality in the Czech Republic was evaluated to determine its applicability in this country. A modified Hawksworth & Rose qualitative scale for determining air pollution levels was used for comparative purposes. The study was undertaken in a partially forested and reasonably polluted region of the Bohemian Karst in central Bohemia during 2003. Measurements obtained by the LDV method yielded values in the range 18–65; measurements obtained by the modified Hawksworth & Rose method indicated zones 4–7, with a high correlation with the LDV results. The LDV method proved to be applicable in the region, but its implementation may be limited by the lack of suitable trees and specific landscape ecology.

scholarly journals Impact of Air Pollution on the Health of the Population in Parts of the Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6454
Author(s):  
Radim J. Sram
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Local Heating ◽  
The United States ◽  
Respiratory Morbidity ◽  
Surprising Result ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact

Thirty years ago, Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic was one of the most air polluted areas in Europe. After political changes, the Czech government put forward a research program to determine if air pollution is really affecting human health. This program, later called the “Teplice Program”, was initiated in collaboration with scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This cooperation made possible the use of methods on the contemporary level. The very high concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the air showed, for the first time, the impact of air pollutants on the health of the population in mining districts: adverse pregnancy outcomes, the impact of air pollution on sperm morphology, learning disabilities in children, and respiratory morbidity in preschool children. A surprising result came from the distribution of the sources of pollution: 70% of PM10 pollution came from local heating and not from power plants as expected. Thanks to this result, the Czech government supported changes in local heating from brown coal to natural gas. This change substantially decreased SO2 and PM10 pollution and affected mortality, especially cardiovascular mortality.

scholarly journals Development of forest stands condition and its monitoring in the Czech Republic

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 514-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Fabiánek ◽  
V. Henžlík ◽  
K. Vančura
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
General Information ◽  
Forest Damage ◽  
Candidate Country ◽  
Pollution Effects ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Icp Forests ◽  
Air Pollution Effects ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring

In 1986, the UN ECE established the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (hereinafter ICP Forests) to respond on the growing concern about forest damage caused since the beginning of eighties by air pollution load. Pan-European grid of the (ICP Forests) monitoring plots represents one of the most important systems of forest ecosystems assessing and checking. The Czech Republic is unfortunately well known due to this problem and so the country joined ICP Forest Programme since the very beginning. The paper presents general information on Czech forest stand condition that gained through various methods in the past as well as in the frame of ICP Forests. The participation in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) represents a contribution of the EU candidate country to the fulfillment of the Reg. (EEC) No. 3528/86. However it seems that effects and importance of air pollution are decreasing, a lot of new stress situations exists and there is a need for continuing the programme.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document