Nature Conservation 1/2012 — 13. 6. 2012 — On Nature in the Czech Republic — Print article in pdf
Pipek J., Ložek V., Šašek J. & Spilka J.: Will the Brdy Highlands Become a Protected Landscape Area?
The Brdy Highlands is a distinctive extensive forest complex, valuable particularly due to the presence of mountain and sub-montane phenomena and well-preserved hydric regime. Considerable low bedrock fertility, skeletal soils and harsh climate resulted in minimal human settlement and agriculture or even to their absence there.
On most of the Brdy Highlands, there has been the Brdy Military Training Area (MTA). In relation to planned abolishing the MTA, question has been raised whether the valuable region would be protected. There are two options. The region can be declared as a Nature Park, aiming at preserving its landscape character/scenery. At the same, some small-size Specially Protected Areas can also be established there, protecting and maintaining wildlife populations and habitats. The other option is to establish a Protected Landscape Area (PLA). Within the MTA, secondary coniferous plantations dominate, while natural habitats have been reduced to relatively small patches. Thus, the region does not fully meet the highest standards for establishing a PLA. Nevertheless, after Ministers of Defence and Army Forces and of the Environment declared the need to protect nature within MTA by establishing a PLA, the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, has begun to prepare an appropriate background document for the establishing the PLA there. The PLA would also include some from a point of view of nature history valuable areas in the MTAs vicinity.