Middle and Upper Pleistocene bone accumulations in caves of the Bohemian Karst, Czech Republic, are newly classified as several types of hyena dens or hyena bone deposits, and cave bear dens. This new taphonomical and paleoecological interpretation of localities that have been known for decades is based on revision of available bone collections, additional field observations at existing localities, and on comparisons with recent spotted hyenas. The thousands of bones from this region, including about seven hundred Pleistocene hyena remains, are strongly fragmented by having been cracked and chewed, consistent with typical hyena activities. The localities can be subdi-vided chronologically as Middle and Upper Pleistocene, or taphonomically as horizontal and vertical caves and karst depressions. Horizontal and vertical caves show contrasting types of bone accumulations. Several vertical cavities were filled in the Middle Pleistocene and contain the remains of <i>Pachycrocuta brevirostris</i> and its prey. This is the case of the areas of Srbsko-Chlum and Koněprusy-Zlatý Kůň Hill. In the Upper Pleistocene, at least eight caves in the Bohemian Karst were used by hyenas of <i>Crocuta crocuta spelaea</i> as dens and prey storage, some of which were also used by cave bears for hibernating. Upper Pleistocene cave bears were scavenged postmortally by Ice Age spotted hyenas at four cave sites, where they left cracked and chewed <i>Ursus spelaeus</i> bones. Hyenas also stored the remains of their prey in the caves. These remains also include rests of other hyenas, which indicates can-nibalism. Fecal pellets were used for marking the den sites. The Nad Kačákem Cave near Hostim is shown to have been a frequented hyena den based on the presence of many 'nibbling sticks' and the remains of juvenile hyena bones. Many hyena skeletons of C. c. spelaea, including juveniles and adults, their coprolites, and the partly cracked bones of their stored prey, were found in vertical caves such as Srbsko-Chlum-Komín. The most spectacu-lar finds are a nearly complete skeleton of the female steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea and an embryo of the Przewalski horse Equus ferus przewalskii. A nearly complete hyena skeleton in the Koněprusy Caves-Prošek Dome is another remarkable find. The most bone-rich localities at Koněprusy-Zlatý Kůň Hill and Srbsko-Chlum Hill are located on, or close to, exposed hill tops, where hyenas had an overview of the surrounding landscape. Statistical analysis of the remains shows that the main animals preyed upon by Upper Pleistocene hyenas were <i>Equus ferus przewalskii</i> and <i>Coelodonta antiquitatis</i>. Additionally, the hyenas fed on <i>Bison priscus</i>, <i>Rangifer tarandus</i>, <i>Cervus elaphus</i>, <i>Megaloceros giganteus</i>, <i>Equus hydruntinus</i>, the Bohemian alpine fauna including <i>Rupricapra rupricapra</i> and <i>Capra ibex</i>, and even the carnivores ...

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Stable isotopes were used to study sulfur dynamics in forest soils of the Czech Republic (Central Europe), one of the most polluted regions in the world. δ34S ratios were determined in vertical soil profiles in 18 small forested catchments covering a wide range of pollution levels from 8.8 to 78.8 kg of S ha-1 yr-1. All sites exhibited an increase in δ34S ratios from topsoil to mineral soil, regardless of the distance from major point sources of atmospheric pollution. Of these 18 sites, 15 sites were characterized by a smooth positive isotope signal with the highest δ34S in the deepest level sampled. The remaining three sites had a δ34S maximum in the second deepest horizon. With increasing soil depth, the positive δ34S signals accompanied a negative S concentration gradient. Our findings constrain the relative roles of various mechanisms of sulfur isotope redistribution in the soil depth profile. Even at extremely high atmospheric deposition (>70 kg of S ha-1 yr-1) sulfur appears to be cycled through an organic S pool in the forest soil.