Podrobné vyhledávání v článcích

The west-east oriented main ridge of the Jeseníky Mountains is an important migration barrier for flying animals. The remarkable col of the Červenohorské sedlo mountain pass, visible from afar, allows them to cross this barrier with less effort than if they flew over the Jeseníky ridges, and it is no wonder that especially during the autumn migration a huge number of birds, bats and various groups of migratory insects are funnelled into the relatively narrow corridor of the saddle. Since 2010, this site has been used for monitoring of migratory birds, to which the monitoring of the passage of bats and selected groups of migratory insects has been added in recent years. Especially in connection with bird migration, this is currently the largest research project in the Czech Republic and is the only locality where birds can be observed under appropriate conditions during both daytime and night-time migrations.

The National Network of Rescue Stations project brings, in addition to thousands of saved lives of wild animals and effective information for the education of inhabitants, also interesting statistics. The central register of all animals received not only allows the monitoring of numbers of species and individuals of injured animals and the dates and locations, but also their fate – reasons why the injury occurred, time when they were admitted, number of days spent at the station, etc. Up to 57 data items can be recorded for each animal received. The long-term uniform methodology of record-keeping also enables the monitoring of these parameters over the years.

Fireworks evoke mixed feelings across society. Part of the population welcomes fireworks as extraordinary entertainment, whereas another part perceives such entertainment rather negatively, for various individual reasons. This article originated from the current need to assess the harmfulness of fireworks to wild birds from the perspective of their biology and the need to place specific cases within the legislative framework of Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on Nature and Landscape Protection (“ANLP”), as amended.

We are currently observing changes in the landscape at an unprecedented rate. We do not have in mind here the often mentioned impacts of climate change, but particularly the consequences of changes in land use by man. A century ago, when a third of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic still made a living from agriculture and forestry and the average farm size did not even exceed 5 hectares (Kučera 1994), the landscape was in many ways exploited more intensively, but at the same time in a much more mosaic way. At present, only a tenth of them participate in land management, while industrialised farming takes place in large, consolidated areas and the management of economically marginal areas and traditional, more labour-intensive forms of farming have been abandoned.

I believe in an authentic internationally recognized national park, but the path to it is thorny, slow and cautious… 
The hitherto maturing National Park can easily be compared to the life of a human being. Its birth was full of enthusiasm and great plans developed by fathers, mothers, uncles and aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers – and each person had a different plan. But everybody agreed that it is necessary to put the best into the child's life.

This year, already a second update of the Conception for Unblocking the Czech River Network, an important water management planning document, will be completed. At present, the Czech Nature Conservation Agency is working on a proposal delineating watercourses which are primarily determined to be made passable for migration, at the same time respecting territorial and species protection. 
For this reason, the length of corridors will generally increase as compared to the present situation. These will be prioritised in the subsidy policy also in future. The objective of the updated version of the document is to implement measures providing free migration to fish and other water animals in an effective and systematic way, especially on watercourses of international and national importance.

The preparation of large infrastructural works has long been criticised for  being time-demanding and ineffective. Drafts of amendments to construction law have repeatedly been submitted in order to shorten and facilitate the approval process. Recently, a proposal for its integral recodification was submitted. The actual administrative process aimed at realising a construction is however to a great extent the final stage in the preparation of a construction. Efforts for systematic changes in building permit procedures should therefore be preceded by a comprehensive analysis of shortcomings already in the stage prior to the building permit procedure. It is not an overstatement to say that the stage of project preparation and specification of the project at different levels in spatial planning documentation have much greater margins than the building permit stage.

The Czech Republic probably does not have a more endangered species than the black grouse. The country hosts many birds which also face great problems and whose numbers are considerably lower than those of the black grouse, e.g. the little owl (Athene noctua) and the saker falcon (Falco cherrug). These have, however, a significant advantage as for survival: they manage to fly dozens or hundreds of kilometres and thus have at least a chance of finding suitable nesting grounds or new partners elsewhere, and mainly… they are within flying distance of their relatives in neighbouring countries.

The impact of industrialised agriculture on biodiversity and landscape ‘condition’ is presently a frequent topic of discussion with experts from various scientific fields. The media and the public are also very interested in the issue, particularly in connection with the drought and generally the ability of our landscape to retain the little moisture which our nature currently endows us with. This contribution will however not deal with rapeseed and maize fields, but with that what separates (or at least should separate) blocks of intensively farmed fields, i.e. increasingly rare dirt roads.

The Romans called the Elbe Albis, White River, apparently for its extensive light-coloured sand beaches in which the river could freely change its flow at the time. Since then, a lot of water has flowed through the Elbe river and it has significantly altered in many places. In the Central European context, however, the Elbe is still considered an exceptional river.