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Effect of conservation grazing on dry grasslands of the Czech Republic
Marek, Matouš ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Karlík, Petr (referee)
This diploma thesis is focused on grazing management in the Czech Republic, namely in Prague, České středohoří and Český kras. More specifically, on dry semi natural grasslands (Festucion valesiacae, Bromion erecti and Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati). The main aim of this thesis was to identify the total effect of grazing in all its forms on the species composition and the diversity of vegetation. Data were collected in 2022 on 54 pastures subjected to conservation grazing, where the management has been going on for 1 - 24 years. Data have been collected on individual localities using phytocenological relevés. Data on the management have been obtained through talks with locality administrators and through questionnaires. Used covariates were associated with the micro-site of the phytocenological relevé, climatic data, types of surrounding vegetation, place of the relevé, soil chemical analyses and the management. The results of this thesis show that grazing predictors often influence broad-leaf grasses, especially Bromus erectus and Brachypodium pinnatum, which negatively affect endangered species. Species composition is mainly affected by the time since start of the management, and the season of grazing. Spring and autumn grazing were identified as positive tools of management (increasing numbers of...
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Changes in dry grassland and thermophilous forest vegetation and the species traits explaining these changes
Míšek, Vojtěch ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Větvičková, Anna (referee)
Calcareous dry grasslands and adjacent thermophilous deciduous forests are important biotopes in terms of biodiversity. They have been shaped by human activity for a long time. Grasslands were grazed or mown, forests were coppiced and the litter was raked. The abandonment of these traditional practices is the main cause why both biotopes are threatened nowadays. A return to these forms of management is essential for the restoration and protection of these communities. In my bachelor's thesis, in addition to the characteristics of dry grasslands and deciduous forests and the factors that influence the vegetation of these biotopes, I deal with species traits that can help explain and predict these changes. Key words: xerothermic grassland, thermophilous forest, vegetation change, species traits.
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Analysis of factors of ecological niche and development of habitat suitability model for Minuartia smejkalii
Linyucheva, Anastasia ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Man, Matěj (referee)
This study focuses on the analysis of the ecological niche of M. smejkalii, mapping areas with suitable conditions for this plant both in locations with its original occurrence and over a larger territory. A combination of variables calculated based on remote Earth exploration data was used to compile habitat suitability models. For evaluating factors that limit the occurrence of M. smejkalii, ENFA analysis and the results of the MAXENT model were used. The study also emphasizes the importance of correct choice of predictors and evaluation of correlations in the data for constructing the HSM. Research shows that an inappropriate combination of variables can significantly limit prediction accuracy, making reliable evaluation of such results impossible. The final habitat suitability model includes predictors describing local thermal and humidity conditions, vegetation type, and vegetation stress level at the sites of M. smejkalii occurrence. Based on the results of the model, local conditions reflected in these variables can be defined. However, due to the uncertainty in the predictions with more variables included in models and the presence of a significant amount of artifacts, other variables were not included in the final model. The main limitation of this study is the small spatial variability of...
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Effect of distance from the plant on the intensity of interaction between plants and soil
Skydaniuk, Liudmyla ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Mudrák, Ondřej (referee)
The concept of plant-soil feedback is increasingly used to explain plant-community interactions. As plants grow, they change the conditions in the surrounding soil environment. These soil changes affect further plant growth. We call this effect plant-soil feedback (PSF). The effect of PSF is typically studied directly in the place where the plant grows. How far from the plant this effect can be, however, is little explored, but this knowledge is important for understanding the structure of plant communities. The main goal of thesis was to investigate the effects of the distance from the plant on the intensity of intraspecific and interspecific feedback between the plant and the soil. The research was conducted using a classic, two-phase experiment. Four species were selected for the research, forming two pairs of one grass and one broad-leaved herb each time. The first pair were Bromus erectus and Inula salicina occurring naturally on dry lawns in northern Bohemia. The second pair were Calamagrostis epigeios and Daucus carota, occurring on lignite dumps in Sokolovsk. The species were cultivated during the cultivation phase in the soil of their origin, it means the soil of the dry lawn of northern Bohemia or the Sokolovsk dump, either each species of the pair was cultivated separately or both...
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Physiological responses of plants to arficial light
Holečková, Barbora ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Konrádová, Hana (referee)
The topic of this bachelor`s thesis is the physiological response od plants to artificial lighting, meaning artificial lighting from street lamps, which is one of the important anthropogenic influences. Artificial lighting at night is referred to by the acronym ALAN (from the english phrase Artificial light at night) and can have a significant effect on plant behaviour. In this thesis, the current knowledge on the influence of streetlights on not only plant behaviour but also on entire ecosystems is summarised in the theoretical part. In the practical part, the chlorophyll content of plants is measured, which is an important parameter informing about their physiological state, i.e. whether nighttime artificial lighting has an influence on it. Subsequently, the detected chlorophyll content of plants under street lighting is compared with that of paired control plants in their surroundings that are not under any artificial lighting. The measurements are carried out using a specially designed instrument for the detection of chlorophyll content in plant leaves called CCM300. The result of the work is the understanding of the possible effect of street lighting Key words Physiological reaction, artificial light at night, plants, chlorophyll
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The Origin and Function of Heterostyly in Angiosperms
Nainar, Adam ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Slovák, Marek (referee)
This bachelor's theses focuses on the phenomenon of heterostyly, which is an extraordinary feature of several representatives of plants from Angiosperm group like primroses /Primula/, based on two or three simultaneously occuring forms of one species, and expresses itself by opposite height configuration of anthers and stigmas, and that supports a reciprocal pollination and decreases a risk of self-pollination. The introduction in the beginning of the theses compares heterostyly with another various adaptations, which Angiosperms use them to avoid self-pollination. Further, the theses is divided to topical chapters, such as occurence and types of heterostyly (distyly, tristyly), and there are also many mentions about history of research of this phenomenon and about possibilities, according to which the heterostyly could have been evolved. In the theses there are mentioned other supplementary features, such as pollen grain differences as well. Also, this theses dedicates to interactions between heterostylous plants and pollinators and even to a brief genetic basis of heterostyly, which is a very important topic for explaining all these features. In the conclusion, there is mentioned a project named "The chase for cowslips", which is mapping populations of primroses - cowslips /Primula veris/ in...
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Plant-soil feedbacks, their mechanisms and role in plant communities
Kuťáková, Eliška ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Kaštovská, Eva (referee) ; de Kroon, Hans (referee)
Plants can influence both the abiotic and biotic properties of the soil they grow in and in such way modified soil can affect performance of the plants growing simultaneously or subsequently in this soil, in a mechanism called plant-soil feedback. Plant-soil feedback can occur between two individuals of the same species (conspecifi c feedback) or between individuals of two different species (heterospecific feedback). So far, plant-soil feedbacks have been shown to play role in vegetation succession, plant invasions and coexistence of species in plant communities. However, mostly due to complexity of processes involved in plant-soil feedbacks, there are still blank pages in our understandings of these plant-soil interactions. This thesis aimed to (i) investigate relationship between heterospecific feedbacks and plant phylogeny, species traits and co-occurrence patterns in plant communities; (ii) disentangle the biotic and abiotic components of soil feedback and evaluate their importance for plant species from a primary successional sequence; (iii) study the individual components of plant-soil feedbacks in a species rich grassland and evaluate their persistence in soil; and (iv) investigate if plant-soil feedbacks can be shaped by presence of soil mesofauna. I found that (i) heterospecific plant-soil...
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External conditions, seed characteristics and other factors affecting seed germination of alpine species
Veselá, Andrea ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Jiménez-Alfaro, Borja (referee) ; Doležal, Jiří (referee)
Germination is the most critical and vulnerable stage in the life cycle of many plants and it directly influences the regeneration potential of populations and thus long-term survival of species. Species germination is affected by external conditions such as light, temperature and moisture acting both during germination (target conditions) and on maternal plants during their life (original conditions). Target and original conditions can interact and affect seed germination as well. The strong temperature and moisture control of seed germination suggests that species recruitment rates and success may be strongly impacted by ongoing climatic changes. Simultaneously, species germination is influenced by characteristics of the seeds themselves, such as, seed mass or seed nutrient content, which can be affected by external climatic conditions as well. This thesis aimed to i) investigate the effect of temperature and moisture acting separately and in interaction as target conditions, original conditions and as interaction between target and original conditions on germination behaviour of alpine species; ii) study effect of seed origin on seed mass and seed nutrient content and their effect on germination; iii) explore how abundance of species is affected by germination behaviour in central European...
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Biotic and abiotic components of soil in plant-soil feedback of invasive and native plant species
Drtinová, Lucie ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Štajerová, Kateřina (referee)
Plant-soil feedback (PSF) is a mechanism which may contribute to the success of invasive plant species. Which of the soil components have the greatest impact on PSF? In a two-phase experiment, I observed changes in germination and growth of plants in reaction to intraspecific plant cultivation: selected plant species were grown in substrate consisting of cultivated or uncultivated soil, containing different composition and amounts of soil biota. The effect of changes in abiotic and biotic components of the soil was then assessed and compared among pairs of closely related invasive and native plant species. The main observed phenomenon was species-specificity of plant responses to changed soil conditions. The cultivation-induced changes in soil composition affected germination and biomass of the test plants positively, negatively, or were neutral, their effect differed between tested species - some of the observed species were more affected by changes in abiotic properties of the soil, some reacted to changes in soil biota composition. Nevertheless, the composition of soil biota affected germination and biomass of plants even regardless of cultivation: the presence of all biotic components of the soil had negative effect on biomass - with growing representation and amount of pathogens, fungi, micro-...
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