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Comparison of mortality trends in Central Europe and Baltic countries from 1970 to the present
Horník, Vojtěch ; Hulíková Tesárková, Klára (advisor) ; Burcin, Boris (referee)
Comparison of mortality trends in Central Europe and Baltic countries from 1970 to the present Abstract The aim of this thesis is to assess the most important mortality trends development in countries of Central Europe and Baltic region between 1970 and 2009. The measures used involve life expectancy at birth and life expectancy at the age of 65; besides of this, the age-specific contributions to life expectancy changes are computed according to the method of R. Pressat. The convergence and divergence tendencies among the analyzed countries and between the two regions are evaluated in this thesis as well. Main findings are, on one hand, that mortality trends are relatively similar within each of the regions. When comparing regions between each other, however, significant differences, mostly in the period between mid-1980s and mid-1990s, arise, they are attributed mostly to the influence of mortality crisis in Baltic region after the Soviet Union dissolution. Even though after 1994 mortality development was favourable in Baltic countries, they did not reach mortality level of Central Europe until 2009. Keywords: mortality, Central Europe, Baltic countries, life expectancy, decomposition, convergence, divergence
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Vegetation of post-mining sites determines soil microbial community structure and soil processes
Urbanová, Michaela ; Baldrian, Petr (advisor) ; Bárta, Jiří (referee) ; Chroňáková, Alica (referee)
Vegetation of post-mining sites determines soil microbial community structure and soil processes Mgr. Michaela Urbanová Abstract The aim of this thesis, which consists of four published articles, was to investigate the effect of vegetation on soil microbial communities and processes in de novo developing soil substrate on the brown-coal spoil heaps in the surrounding of city Sokolov. Spoil material - soil clayey substrate, which had been gradually mined from the opencast brown coal mine, stratified onto spoil heaps and reclaimed by assisted afforestation with selected tree species or left for spontaneous plant succession, changes its biotic and abiotic characteristic in the course of time and particularly under the influence of plants. Changes of spoil substrate characteristics are related to the growth of plant roots and particularly also to the production of plant biomass, which is decomposed gradually and takes part of soil, where participates to soil organic matter. The process of plant dead materials decomposition and transformation is the function of the activity of soil organisms and among them notably soil microorganisms. Moreover, the presence of many of them is closely related to the presence of vegetation, whose symbionts or pathogens are. The exact mechanisms of the plant-microbes interactions...
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Combination of biochemical and high-throughput-sequencing approaches to study the role of Antinobacteria and fungi in the decomposition of plant biomass
Větrovský, Tomáš ; Baldrian, Petr (advisor) ; Slaninová Kyselková, Martina (referee) ; Tomšovský, Michal (referee)
Dead plant biomass is a key pool of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. Its decomposition in soil environments is thus an essential process of the carbon cycle. Fungi are considered to be the primary decomposers in soil ecosystems because of their physiological adaptations and enzymatic apparatus composed from highly effective oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes. Many recent works show that in addition to fungi, bacteria may also play a significant role in lignocellulose decomposition and among bacteria, the members of the phylum Actinobacteria are often regarded to significantly contribute to cellulose and lignocellulose decomposition. This thesis is focused on the evaluation of the role that fungi and Actinobacteria play in dead plant biomass degradation. First, it explored mechanisms involved in degradation, in particular the enzymatic breakdown of major lignocellulose components as cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Enzymatic apparatus of the saprotrophic fungus Fomes fomentarius was explored both in vitro as well as in vivo. Several Actinobacteria were isolated from soil and comparative experiments, investigating production of hydrolytic enzymes, were carried out to track the transformation of polysaccharides and lignin by these strains. To explain the roles of lignocellulose decomposers in...
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Determination of selected elements in plant materials using atomic spectrometry
Rylova, Kristina ; Hraníček, Jakub (advisor) ; Rychlovský, Petr (referee)
The aim of this bachelor thesis was to determine the elements Se, Zn, Ca and Mg in plant samples using atomic absorption spectrometry with two different types of atomization. The both methods has been optimized for the determination of these elements. Optimization of a burner height which generally ranged between 6.0 and 7.0 cm and optimization of the flow rate of acetylene, air and nitrous oxide was needed for the method using flame atomization. It also has been set location of the hollow cathode lamp. Optimization of dilution of hydrochloric acid, the concentration of sodium borohydride and the flow rate of the sample was needed for the method of atomic absorption spectrometry with the chemical generation of volatile hydrides. Optimal conditions, which were found, were used for measurement method performance which are describe the method for the determination of individual elements. The limit of detection for selenium was 0,496 µg L-1, for zinc was 6,01 µg L-1, for calcium was 15,51 µg L-1 and for magnesium was 2,47 µg L-1. Optimal conditions were also used for determination of the elements in real samples which were prepared by decomposition of plant materials with nitric acid in a microwave oven. Samples were diluted to provide a measurable response and the auxiliary solution of potassium...
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The influence of the dominant trees and grain substrate the composition of the microbial community studied by PLFA
Stachová, Sandra ; Frouz, Jan (advisor) ; Heděnec, Petr (referee)
The aim of the thesis was to analyze soil microbial communities of three ecologically different locations, about 25 years old, forestry reclaimed dumps in the Republic of Poland, namely dumps of brown coal mine Bełchatów and sand mines Piaseczno and Szczakowa. I evaluated the degree of dependence of structure and composition of these communities on various substrate grain sizes and the influence of the dominant tree species. These were stands of birch (Betula pendula), pine (Pinus silvestris), oak (Quercus robur) and alder (Alnus glutinosa). Analysis of soil microbial communities was made by evaluating specific phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) of microorganisms. It is the most appropriate way to implement the relatively rapid analysis of large numbers of samples, since PLFA are easily extractable and act as biomarkers indicating the presence of a number of different microorganisms (fungi, G- and G + bacteria, Actinobacteria, etc.) and thus allowing a qualitative and quantitative assessment of whole microbial communities. PLFA analysis enables to detect a total concentration of PLFA only in living soil microbial biomass. I analyzed 66 soil samples, 33 from an Oe layer and 33 from an A layer, every in three replications, i.e. three replications were collected at each location below each tree...
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Nonmarital and marital fertility in the Czech Republic and from international perspective. Trends, patterns and attitudes
Srnová, Zdeňka ; Rychtaříková, Jitka (advisor) ; Kraus, Jaroslav (referee)
Nonmarital and marital fertility in the Czech Republic and from international perspective. Trends, patterns and attitudes. Abstract The aim of this master thesis is to describe the development trends of marital and nonmarital fertility in the Czech Republic and to analyze selected indicators of fertility. As tools are used to certain methods of demographic analysis. The first part addressis the basic concepts related to the issue of marital and nonmarital fertility, data sources and a description of the historical development of nonmartial fertility. The analytical part include basic analysis of fertility by age, marital status, education, birth order and the decomposition of the total fertility rate and proportion of childern born outsider marriage in the Czech Republic and Austria too. Keywords: marital fertility, nonmarital fertility, decomposition, total fertility rate, value orientation
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Fungi associated with decomposing wood in temperate forests
Štercová, Lucie ; Baldrian, Petr (advisor) ; Zikánová, Blanka (referee)
Wood decaying fungi are an essential part of all forest ecosystems. On their functioning depends a number of other organisms which use substances produced during decay of wood. Enzymes that degrade wood represent indispensable tool for fungi in converting structural compounds of wood to water and carbon dioxide. That makes them an essential part of the carbon cycle in nature. The dynamic of fungal communities on decaying wood is determined by a range of abiotic and biotic factors. The variability of microclimatic conditions, differences in the wood humidity and a gaseous mode are identifying stress factors which define the presence of species adapted to those conditions. An important factor, with which we can partially predict community composition, is the degree of decomposition of wood and the history of a species on the substrate. Another indicator, which may partly explain the composition of the community is a way of dying of a tree and a type of decaying substrate. Often, the development of a community follows from the primary colonizers, with high tolerance to unfavorable conditions, through the secondary colonizers, which have the ability to obtain the substrate over primary colonizers, but require more stable microclimatic conditions, to late colonizers, who are adapted to stress factors as...
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Impact of litter quality on decomposition
Vicena, Jakub ; Frouz, Jan (advisor) ; Cajthaml, Tomáš (referee)
The text of the thesis is divided into two parts. The literature overview discusses the importance of decomposition to carbon cycling in soils and evaluation of biological, physical and chemical factors that affect decomposition. To understand the factors affecting the soil respiration is essential to improve the global carbon balance. Decomposition affects also the release of nutrients, soil fertility and other soil processes and properties. The very project aims at the impact of leaf litter quality assessment (specifically, the C: N: P ratio) on the rate of decomposition. The assumption is that the low C:N ratio initially accelerates the decomposition which quickly reaches its minimum. Conversely, at a high C: N ratio the rate of decomposition is initially slower and subsequently reaches its minimum, and the average value of decomposition will be higher than in samples with low C:N ratio. For litter which has undergone leaching phase none of the significant differences in respiration of the individual samples with different C:N were statistically proved.
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Cellulolytic fungi and their diversity on plant litter
Gálová, Diana ; Baldrian, Petr (advisor) ; Kolařík, Miroslav (referee)
Litter decomposition requires the presence of corresponding degradative enzymes, produced mainly by fungi. Forest soils show considerable spatial heterogeneity of distribution of these enzymes at diferent scales. Moreover, enzyme pruduction varies during the year, usually accompanied by the change in fungal community composition. In this work I examined if this spatial heterogeneity can be seen even at a scale of an individual leaf and whether the fungal community differs among enzyme activity hotspots and inactive parts of the leaves. Another goal was isolation of celulytic fungi from cellulose litterbags incubated on forest floor using particle filtration and dilution-to-extinction method. In a broadleaved forest dominated by oak leaves at different stages of decay were collected: senescent leaves on twigs, and leaves after 2, 10 and 22 months of decomposition. Ten leaves per season were taken for analysis of cellobiohydrolase activity over the leaf surface. Leaves were attachmed onto melted agarose plate and leaf surface was covered with low melting point agarose containing fluorescently labelled substrate. For each leaf a map of enzyme activity was created and area with the high and low enzyme activity was identified. From both sites a square of approx. 1 cm2 was cut out, DNA was extracted and fungal...
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Ecology of deadwood-associated fungi in the ecosystems of nature-like forests
Zrůstová, Petra ; Baldrian, Petr (advisor) ; Konopásek, Ivo (referee)
Dead wood plays an important role in forest ecosystems in the context of C dynamics, nutrient cycling, forest regeneration and biodiversity. Decaying wood sustains biodiversity by providing habitats and energy for fungi, bacteria, invertebrates, and many other organisms. Dead wood is resistant to decomposition and its decay is driven mainly by filamentous fungi. Community structure of wood- inhabiting fungi changes during decomposition, but the relationship between substrate quality and decomposer community is still poorly understood. This work studied fungal community composition with respect to tree species, stage of decay, volume and physico-chemical properties (such as pH, carbon and nitrogen content) of dead wood. Fungi were identified using next generation sequencing approaches - 454-pyrosequencing and Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Tree species, volume of dead wood (branches x logs) and stage of decay were the main variables affecting fungal community composition. Higher enzyme activities and content of fungal biomass indicate faster colonization of small branches than tree trunks by fungi. Fungal community composition, wood chemical properties and enzyme activities changed during decomposition. Both content of nitrogen and fungal biomass increased during decomposition. Enzyme activites peaked...
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