Publication details
Degradation of fens and wet meadows of southeastern Bohemian-Moravian Highlands after 20 years
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | MENDELNET 2019: PROCEEDINGS OF 26TH INTERNATIONAL PHD STUDENTS CONFERENCE |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://mendelnet.cz/artkey/mnt-201901-0059_Degradation-of-fens-and-wet-meadows-of-southeastern-Bohemian-Moravian-Highlands-after-20-years.php?back=/magno/mnt/2019/mn1.php?secid=24 |
| Keywords | biodiversity; habitats; land use; landscape homogenisation; succession; vegetation change |
| Description | Most fen and wet-meadow habitats in the Czech Republic have been transformed by drainage, fertilizers inputs and ploughing for agriculture purposes. At nowadays, despite regular management measures at many sites, we can see qualitative deterioration and gradual area loss of the low-productive wetland habitats. Using local historical vegetation data and current data, we demonstrate changes in studied natural habitats at 24 localities within southeastern Bohemian-Moravian Highlands after twenty years. The original habitats were found as same only at three localities, while the rest of localities changed somehow. Less than two-thirds of fens and wet meadows remained preserved up today, whereas a significant area changed into mesic meadows, reed beds, willow carrs, young alder forests or even ruderal vegetation, tree plantations or arable land. The main cause of degradation is mainly the abandonment of the traditional use, resulting in eutrophication and succession leading to above mentioned secondary habitats. Moreover, the deliberate destruction of the habitats for agriculture or forestry use was also documented. |