Nature and Landscape Management

Nature Conservation 3/2014 — 24. 8. 2014 — Nature and Landscape Management — Print article in pdf

Trnka P., Hausvaterová M. & Vojtěchovská E.: The Kojetín Fishpond Restoration in the Polabí/Elbe Riv

authors: Pavel Trnka, Eva Vojtěchovská, Marcela Hausvaterová

The Kojetín Fishpond is a part of the Nature Monument of the same name (District of Jičín, eastern Bohemia), established in 1999.

In very intensively used farmland in the Polabí/Elbe River Basin, it harbours very valuable habitats, particularly for water and wetland birds, e.g, the Black-necked grebe, in North America known as the Eared grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) as a breeder, and amphibians such as the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina). At the same time, the artificial water reservoir is included in to the European Union´s Natura 2000 network, namely into the Rožďalovické rybníky/Rožďalovice Fishponds Area (pursuant to Act No. 114/1992 Gazette on the Protection of Nature and the Landscape, as amended later, the term for Special Protection Areas, SPAs under the European Union´s Birds Directive). When the fishpond was taken over from the State Land Office, most of its area was filled by soil, overgrown by continuous reed beds and silted up by sediments, negatively effecting water in the course of the year. The authors describe developing a restoration project, managing calls for tender for various restoration measures and raising funds for the project. Most of the amphibian species have been displaying an increase in numbers there. In addition, the Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) attempted to breed there in 2013 after ten years of absence: the in the past common bird species has been dramatically declining in the Czech Republic. Details on implementation of the measures in the field are also given in the article. The project´s outputs have been found within a short period in wild plants and animals. For reaching fishpond long-term viability, new goals have been set-up also presented in the article.