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Species diversity of vascular plants in alpine vegetation of the Western Carpathian mountains on different spatial scales and its connection to soil pH
Anderlová, Nikoleta ; Sklenář, Petr (advisor) ; Macek, Martin (referee)
Alpine regions are hotspots of species diversity and are therefore at focal center of scientific interest. The research aiming to understand the influences and patterns that shape this unique environment, is complicated by mulitple metodological issues stemming from unclear definitions of used terms as well as the existence of various methodological approaches and their constrains/limitations. The breadth of the topic of species diversity, which can be viewed from multitude of perspectives, is also adding to complications. This work summarizes the most important information in available literature and addresses important correlations and trends in environmental variables and species diversity of alpine meadows in the areas of Malá Fatra, Nízke Tatry, Roháče, and Belianske Tatry. At the center of attention is the widely accepted theory of higher species richness in areas with basic, calcareous substrates compared to areas with acidic, silicate substrates in Europe. To confirm this theory at different spatial scales in alpine environment, hierarchical sampling was chosen. A total of 96 samples containing data on the presence/absence of plants and relevant environmental factors, including pH measurements, were obtained. The structure of these data was visualized using ordination techniques such as PCA...
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Vegetation diversity of abandoned settlements
Poslová, Kateřina ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Kačmar, Martin (referee)
In my bachelor thesis I am concerned with influence of abandoned settlement and historical land use on vegetation. I am interested in settlements of different age and type - from ancient settlements, medieval castles and villages to villages that were abandoned in modern times. I am also concerned in diversity, composition and development of plant communities and with influence on soils. I am also interested in the question of persistence of anthropogenic influence on landscape. Settlement and land use largely influence landscape. They alter diversity of vegetation, quality of soil and relief of landscape. These changes can be lasting or maybe irreversible. Nutrients are acumulated and pH is risen in abandoned settlements. Nitrophilous and ruderal species are also much more frequent than in ancient forests around. Human can enrich diversity of vegetation in landscape by his influence. Mutual comparison of influence between similar types of settlements in landscapes with different climate and sub-soil may be another direction in future research. Key words: abandoned settlements, medieval castles, villages, diversity, vegetation, secondary forest, historical land use, nutrients, pH
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Influence of understory light on diversity and composition of forest vegetation in the České Středohoří Mts.
Macek, Martin ; Kopecký, Martin (advisor) ; Černý, Tomáš (referee)
Light is essential component of forest ecosystem, as limited light availability in forest-floor restricts herb and tree seedlings growth. Importance of light availability for maintaining plant species diversity and community structure wasn't sufficiently evaluated in the Czech Republic. This study focus on the ecological relevance of light availability on both landscape and local scale. Relationship of light to cover, diversity and species composition was quantified in the thesis. Dominant tree species affected light availability and its spatial variability. Light availability was along the soil reaction and slope most influential factor for large-scale species diversity. Within-site light variability affected plant diversity more than soil reaction variability. Measuring light by means of hemispherical photography seems to be an appropriate for studies like this. Light availability influnence on community compostition is weak in comparison with other environmental gradients.
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Use of microbial community structure as a marker of conditions in underground biotops
Burkartová, Kateřina ; Falteisek, Lukáš (advisor) ; Drahota, Petr (referee)
The amount of data obtained by barcoding of prokaryotic 16S rDNA from natural habitats is increasing exponentially. Thus, methods enabling us to extract useful information from these data are of increasing importance. In this thesis microbial communities from water, sludge and drilling dust were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing in three geologically well described sedimentary aquifers in Bohemian Massif. The main goal of this research was to establish how different analytical approaches can be useful in interpretation of groundwater biogeochemical processes. Three approaches were used: First, taxonomy and metabolic traits of the most abundant microorganisms were assessed. Second, ordination methods showing metabolic and taxonomic variability between communities were used. Last the analysis of phylogenetic dissimilarity using UniFrac metrics was performed. When analyzing individual localities separately, the shift in microbial community composition corresponds with the change of environmental conditions. The unconstrained ordination method based on the variability in metabolic traits indicated, that sludge samples are more informative than water samples when asking which electron donor is used in microbial communities. On the other hand, unconstrained ordination methods were useless when the...
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Influence of military activities on vegetation diversity in Doksy region
Staněk, Ondřej ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Volařík, Daniel (referee)
The thesis focuses on description of specific area of Doksy region, situated in northern Bohemia. This region was affected by fifty years of military management. Vegetation composition, species richness and several environmental characteristics were measured and statistically tested to determine the effect of military area on landscape and vegetation. No significant difference in species richness, but important changes in species composition were discovered. Also the environmental (soil) characteristics of the area were probably changed by the military history of landscape. There were no major changes in Beta diversity uncovered, probably because of different management leading to the same resulting changes applied in the landscape. Also four invasive plant species were found in high numbers present in the area connected with past military land-use.
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Vegetation diversity of abandoned settlements
Poslová, Kateřina ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Kačmar, Martin (referee)
In my bachelor thesis I am concerned with influence of abandoned settlement and historical land use on vegetation. I am interested in settlements of different age and type - from ancient settlements, medieval castles and villages to villages that were abandoned in modern times. I am also concerned in diversity, composition and development of plant communities and with influence on soils. I am also interested in the question of persistence of anthropogenic influence on landscape. Settlement and land use largely influence landscape. They alter diversity of vegetation, quality of soil and relief of landscape. These changes can be lasting or maybe irreversible. Nutrients are acumulated and pH is risen in abandoned settlements. Nitrophilous and ruderal species are also much more frequent than in ancient forests around. Human can enrich diversity of vegetation in landscape by his influence. Mutual comparison of influence between similar types of settlements in landscapes with different climate and sub-soil may be another direction in future research. Key words: abandoned settlements, medieval castles, villages, diversity, vegetation, secondary forest, historical land use, nutrients, pH
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Influence of understory light on diversity and composition of forest vegetation in the České Středohoří Mts.
Macek, Martin ; Kopecký, Martin (advisor) ; Černý, Tomáš (referee)
Light is essential component of forest ecosystem, as limited light availability in forest-floor restricts herb and tree seedlings growth. Importance of light availability for maintaining plant species diversity and community structure wasn't sufficiently evaluated in the Czech Republic. This study focus on the ecological relevance of light availability on both landscape and local scale. Relationship of light to cover, diversity and species composition was quantified in the thesis. Dominant tree species affected light availability and its spatial variability. Light availability was along the soil reaction and slope most influential factor for large-scale species diversity. Within-site light variability affected plant diversity more than soil reaction variability. Measuring light by means of hemispherical photography seems to be an appropriate for studies like this. Light availability influnence on community compostition is weak in comparison with other environmental gradients.
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