English Summary

They include picturesque landscape with a distinct fault range, deep valleys, floodplains, with a mosaic of forest, grassland, fish pond and small human settlement patches. In the Železné hory/Iron Mts., the remarkable habitat heterogeneity has caused the high flora diversity. From a point of view of wild animal occurrence, remnants of primary forests in the Chrudimka River valley, namely the Oheb, Krkanka and Strádovské peklo Nature Reserves, the Polom Primary Forest Nature Reserve respectively, where some insect species indicate that the fir-beech forest has been occurring there at least for some centuries. For protecting the most valuable sites in the Železné hory/Iron Mts., 26 small-size Specially Protected areas were step by step established. The most extensive of them, the Lichnice – Kaňkovy hory National Nature Reserve covering 343 hectares maintains well-preserved beech, relic pine and stone debris forest communities. The Protected Landscape Area (PLA) Administration uses for nature and landscape management various European Union and national subvention programmes/subsidiary schemes. The mea­sures aim at maintaining and improving the PLAs conservation status, both on public and private lands. Activities carried out by the PLA Administration are very diverse, focusing on the whole landscape, forests, grasslands and brooks as well as on the individual trees or wild animals orgeologically or geomorphologically remarkable sites.

The Odra River is a crucial element in the less diversified landscape, being a real axis of the whole area and it passes through the region by a stretch reaching 57.5 km. The river is considered to be one of the best preserved lowland medium-sized in the Czech Republic. The Odra River displays extensive water overflowing across the surface within the PLA sometimes a year, when the water is overflowing freely in the landscape. Thus, flood waves possessing risk to human settlements located down the river are naturally slowed down by a floodplain. The PLA is a Wetland of International Importance designated under the Ramsar Convention (a Ramsar Site), being located just on the significant Central European bird flyway. Due to protection of bird species listed under the European Unions Bird Directive, namely the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) and the Gadwall (Anas strepera), the Poodří/Odra River Basin River became a Bird Area (pursuant to Act No. 114/1992 Gazette on the Protection of Nature and the Landscape, as amended later, the term for the Special Protection Area, SPA under the Birds Directive). Since the PLA harbours an extremely important natural habitat types, it also is a Site of European Importance (pursuant the above act, the term for a Site of Community Importance, a SCI under the Habitats Directive) within the EUs NATURA 2000 network. Wildlife diversity is caused by a range of natural habitats, e.g. grasslands, watercourses, old river arms, pools, fishponds, other wetlands or forests which are inhabited by a lot of threatened wild plant and animal species (e.g., the Yellow Water-lilly Nuphar lutea, Floating Fern Salvinia natans, European Weather Loach Misgurnus fossilis or the Little Ramshorn Whirpool Snail Anisus vorticulus).

The landscape harbours wet meadows with extensive reed beds and bulrush, in North America known as cattail (Typha spp.) growths, woodlots and dispersed waterlogged willow trees. A relatively extensive part of the wetland is a marsh. The site is unique particularly due to its bird fauna: in total, 130 bird species have been found on the area of 25 hectares. A numerous White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) population breeds there. Among specially protected species also nesting there, the Common Snipe (G. gallinago), Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) and the Savis Warbler (Locustella lusciniodes) should be mentioned. Remarkable amphibian species occurring at the site include the Common Frog (Rana temporaria), Edible Frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus), Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) and the European Tree Frog (Hyla arborea). Wild plants growing there are common species. In future, a wetland can be restored towards the state in the late 20^th century, particularly by keeping the Libuňka Stream freely meandering and establishing a new small fishpond and pools in the northwestern part of the site which was damaged by amelioration.

The area is formed by Middle Devonian to Lower Carboniferous limestones. More than 1,000 caves have been discovered within the PLA, five of them being show caves. The Císařská jeskyně/Imperial Cave is used for speleotherapy. The biggest cave system, the Amatérská jeskyně/Amateur Cave reaching more than 40 km in length, has been designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Cave sediments have preserved remarkable evidence that the area had been inhabited by the Neanderthal man 120,000 year ago. At the same time, animal cuttings from the Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian culture (13,000–10,000 years B.C.) are famous around the world. Almost 60% of the whole PLA´s territory is covered by forests. Thermophilous communities in the southern part are followed by extensive beech forests in the central part and submontane forest growths in glens. In the Moravský kras/Moravian Karst, also endemic species occur. In total, 22 bat species inhabit the area. Due to its remarkable natural value, more than half of the PLA´s has been included into the European Union´s Natura 2000 network. Using both national and EU funds, plots above caves were grassed. Visitor attendance is controlled and in deep karst canyons of the Pustý žleb/Wild Glen and Suchý žleb/Dry Glen cars are prohibited. Because of nature conservation purposes, limits for visitors were laid down and some sites are closed in the bat hibernation period. The new Skalní mlýn/Rock Mill Visitor Centre shall improve communication, education and raising awareness among PLA´s visitors.

It aims at preserving semi-natural rock, steppe and forest habitats with remarkable geomorphological and geological features. Forests covering a third of the PLAs territory, maintain semi-natural forest tree composition. Within the Czech Republic, the Pálava PLA is an example of an island mountain range just in the middle of warm lowlands. Contrary to countrys other parts, the PLA harbours a lot of thermophilous plant species, penetrating from south-eastern Europe to south Moravia. The PLAs relatively high species richness is caused by habitat and ecotone heterogeneity as well as by its location on the boundaries between two zoogeographical provinces: Pannonian steppe and Central European broad-leaved deciduous forest ones. Conservation management deals particularly with preserving the species richness, halting the overgrowing of steppe grasslands by natural succession, removing and eradication of undesirable non-native tree species and preserving the PLAs landscape character/scenery.