Nature Conservation 6/2013 — 27. 1. 2014 — Research, Surveys and Data Management — Print article in pdf
Vrška T. & Král K.: The Žofín Primeval Forest Goes Out into the World
The Žofín Primeval Forest in the Novohradské hory/Nové Hrady Mts. in South Bohemia is the oldest primeval forest-like protected area in the Czech Republic (since 1838).
The core zone of forest reserve was included into a global comprehensive network of research plots aiming at research of natural forest dynamics and their appearance at the global scale after two years of evaluation and assessment. The Žofín Forest Dynamic Plot became a part of the Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO), representing mixed temperate forest in continental Europe there. After agreement with Smithsonian staff members, a square plot covering 25 hectares was chosen in the Žofín Primeval Forest core zone where all the parameters were standardized and upgrades following the protocols used in the whole global network as a common basis. Primarily, information on dynamics in woody plant layer disturbance, development stage and in herb layer in relation to woody plant one, changes in tree spatial patterns, etc. has been gained from the plot. Moreover, the data gained there can be used by other scientists studying different groups of organisms.