|
|
Effects of wild ungulates on vegetation in an abandoned landscape
Horčičková, Eva ; Herben, Tomáš (advisor) ; Diekmann, Martin (referee) ; Tichý, Lubomír (referee)
Wild ungulates are considered one of the major drivers for shaping terrestrial ecosystems, which has been developing since the early Cenozoic. Understanding the effects of ungfulates on vegetation is necessary for qualified knowledge how European landscape looked prior to human habitation and how it would look like without human intervention. Further, such understanding is of practical importance as management information necessary for managing abandoned landscapes. While the present-day wild ungulate European fauna does not contain several large grazers like auroch (Bos primigenius) anymore, the landscape has long been affected by them. It thus possesses historical experience of response to large grazers, which has been further maintained by livestock grazing. Importantly, the European landscape is experiencing a steady increase of populations of deer (Cervidae) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) with major effects of vegetation and landscape structure. While the effects of these present-day dominants have been studied mainly in forest habitats, there is a growing evidence that they both promote species diversity of forest understory and, interestingly, preferably feed in open vegetation and thus can affect broader landscape heterogeneity. The main aim of this thesis is therefore to examine effects of...
|
|
| |
|
|
Potravní ekologie koní v kontextu ochranářského managementu krajiny
HÁJKOVÁ, Pavlína
This thesis provides a review of knowledge available on wild and feral horse feeding ecology, habitat preferences, competition overlap with other herbivores and their impact on vegetation. In summary, horses appear valuable for management of grasslands, but less suitable for regulation of shrubs and trees, especially when they are compared to cattle and cervids, which are more able to eliminate woody plants. Together with a tabular overview of literature on feeding ecology and plant taxa eaten by horses in the Holarctic realm, an optimalized protocol is provided to facilitate proper field collection of data about the feeding ecology and behavioral repertoire in large ungulates.
|
|
|
Výkrm býků pastevním způsobem v ekologickém zemědělství
OULICKÝ, Radovan
The aim of the bachelor thesis was the analysis of meat performance of the herd of fattened bulls containing the majority of the Aberdeen Angus RED form. The fattening took place at 850-950 m a.s.l. in the organic farming regime. The set of bulls consisted of 23 bulls kept on the private farm. From the group of fattened bulls data about feeding quality and carcass values were obtained. The average live weight of weaned calves was 297 kg with the average age of seven months. The average slaughter weight of slaughter animals was 634 kg and the average carcass weight was 349 kg and the average carcass yield was 54 %. Significant differences were found within gains between the winter season and the grazing period when in the first winter period after weaning the daily gain was 0.36 kg per day and in the first grazing period was 0.66 kg per day. During the second winter period bulls reached the average gain of 0.45 kg per day and during the second grazing period of 0.64 kg per day.
|
|
|
Effect of grazing on bryophytes diversity of dry grasslands in the PLA Český kras
TENČÍK, Aleš
Dry grassland are among the most endangered plant communities mainly due to the overgrowth of a number of localities. That is why from the beginning of the 21st century pasture with mixed herds of sheep and goats is restored on the most valuable dry grassland sites in the Bohemian Karst as the way of maintaining these habitats. Concurrently, research sites each 1x1 m in size were set up at four pastured localities, and were paired with control sites equipped with a fence for the research of grazing effect on vegetation. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of grazing on the diversity of bryophytes at the forty pairs of the above-mentioned areas in three types of calcareous dry grasslands. In addition to the inventory of bryophytes, data on the most important abiotic and biotic factors of the environment were recorded on individual sites. The total number of bryophyte species found at the research sites is 46. 37 species were found at the grazing areas and the same number was at the fenced areas. Minimal differences in the number of species of grazed and unspoilt areas were also found in the comparison of individual localities. The grazing effect was shown up more significantly on species richness in the comparison of individual types of communities, especially in broad-leaved dry grassland (T3.4). There was a 40% increase in the number of species on grazing areas. The environmental factors have a positive effect on the species abundance mainly due to the higher slope of the terrain and the correlation with the larger occurrence of the stones, the smaller coverage of the herb layer and the litter. These conditions prevailed in areas with rock outcrop vegetation with Festuca pallens (T3.1), where the largest species richness of bryophytes in area was found. In the obtained data, the influence of grazing on the species composition of bryophytes on grazed and unspoilt areas was also assessed with the statistical methods and the Sörensen test of beta-diversity. The results show that grazing significantly influences the species composition towards open grassland and supports the growth of the bryophytes T3.1 plant community at the expense of the T3.4 plant community
|
|
|
The origin of open canopy oak forests in Podborany region
Procházka, Michal ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Mayerová, Hana (referee)
The open canopy thermophilous oak forests are a phenomenon whose origin has not been completely clarified yet. However, they are a valuable source of a biodiversity caused by diversity of microstands which has an irreplaceable role in a landscape of the central Europe. Due to the appropriate protection it is desirable to understand the factors which caused this phenomenon. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the factors that support creation and preservation of open canopy oak forests in central Europe. In addition to abiotic factors such as small depth in the soil horizon, there is a large section primarily dedicated to human influence and now, mainly abandoned farming methods. Such methods include coppicing and wood-pasture. The question of the origin of open canopy oak forest is also discussed in the context of the history of farming in the Podborany region where we can still find a few open canopy oak forests. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
|
|
|
Tree sedlings and grazing.
Juřicová, Anna ; Weiser, Martin (advisor) ; Mayerová, Hana (referee)
My bachelor thesis resumes effects of forest grazing and browsing in the temperate climate region. Grazing can be useful tool in maintaining biodiverzity. However this effect strongly depends on abundance of herbivores and their selectivity. These results are based on studies that manipulated with grazing pressure, using exclusion or enclusion of the herbivores.
|
|
|
Methods used to study the effects of grazing on vegetation
Hyklová, Lucie ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Šlechtová, Anna (referee)
Calcareous grasslands are one of the most diverse habitats of Northern and Central Europe. Most of the calcareous grasslands were created by human agricultural activities and therefore they need some kind of management for their long-lasting maintenance. These habitats have been vanishing during last few decades and that's why there were many experiments provided all around the world to examine possible ways of their restoration and preservation. Grazing of livestock has been a traditional management in many places and is often being investigated nowadays. The aim of this work is to search and compare methods that are used to experimentally study the effects of grazing on vegetation. These experiments use different methods although they usually have the same goal - high species richness. Most of these studies are from Great Britain, Germany and states of Northern Europe. Average length of the experiment is seven years. Key words: grassland, grazing, management, restoration, methods, species richness
|
|
|
Changes of vegetation composition in hilly country forests depending on the application of historical forms of management
Nechanská, Denisa ; Boublík, Karel (advisor) ; Frouz, Jan (referee)
The aim of my study is to determine the influence of historical management practices on the camposition of vascular species in hilly country forests on the Vysoká stráň hill in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area in the Czech Republic. My thesis is divided into two parts. The first part of my thesis describes influences of forest management on the herb diversity from different scientific studies. There is some information about the influence of herbivorous grazing, pollarding, litter raking and fire. Secondly provides a case study dealing with the influence of historical management on the vascular species composition in the forest understory. My experimental area was divided into 32 treatments, where three different ways of historical management were used - mowing of the understory vegetation, litter raking and the combination of mowing and litter raking. The fourth area was a control treatment. Change in the herb diversity depending on a time is statistically significant but changes in the herb diversity depending on different ways of historical management are statistically insignificant. We detected a distinct decline in the herb diversity during our experiment, also on the control treatments. The main gradient of vegetation points from mesophilous acidophytes to species characteristic...
|
|
| |
guest ::
