The subject of the Rájec project (the Drahanská vysočina Upland) consists in the analysis of ecological impacts of intensive management in spruce monocultures growing on original sites of beech. Long-term studies were aimed at particular stand and environment stages after clear-felling regeneration and at the origin of a spruce monoculture of the 2nd generation. The establishment of the spruce monoculture can be considered to be most important. The highest attention was paid to the monoculture both from the aspect of carbon and nitrogen in particular components of the forest stand and their transport processes as well as from the aspect of water regime and biodiversity. The study was also aimed at the first stage of the clear-felled area development after felling a mature stand and also at functions of the herb vegetation, which reached its maximum production 4 to 7 years after felling. The paper objective was to assess spruce monocultures even outside their natural range from the aspect of changes in the forest environment as well as from the aspect of possible global changes of climate.
Many abandoned villages in Central Europe are now covered with forest. These abandoned villages can be indicated by their different species composition compared to the surroundings. We were interested in whether these differences could be indicated by geobiocoenological plots (400 m2). Phytocoenological samples were taken from geobiocoenological plots located on the former buildings, in the village square and in gardens. Based on significant fidelity (Fisher’s exact test at P = 0.05 significance level) and differential species coverage (ONE WAY ANOVA at P = 0.05 significance level), indicator species for the former buildings and former village square could be determined. The former buildings were indicated by species requiring higher soil nutrient content and higher pH, such as Anemone ranunculoides and Stachys sylvatica. The former village square site was indicated by species adapted to acid soils with less competitive abilities that could not compete on the more fertile soils of the former buildings, e.g. Maianthemum bifolium and Dryopteris carthusiana. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the influence of forest plant communities by medieval settlement activities can be phytoindicated using geobiocoenological plots of 400 m2. This method can be applied especially in areas with acid soils, e.g. where there is a large difference in the amount of plant-available nutrients in the soil
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