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Evaluation of the physiological status of European beech in its plantings on localities following the gradient of its ecological valence
Palouš, Daniel ; Albrechtová, Jana (advisor) ; Tomášková, Ivana (referee)
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the dominant tree species in Europe, presenting a keystone species for forest ecosystem functioning. The ongoing climate change alters the environmental conditions in the areas of the current distribution of European beech, leading to stress. Concerning the critical health status of forests in the Czech Republic and other European countries, it's even more urgent to monitor the health status of forests. For this, tools for early detection of a stand's physiological status decline are needed. The aforementioned tools can consist of indicators of the physiological status suggested by this thesis. This thesis aims to evaluate the applicability and sensitivity of the preselected set of indicators of the physiological status of European beech to the gradient of environmental conditions (temperature, precipitation) within its ecological valence. Four stands of European beech presenting the gradient of beech's ecological valence were observed over the peak of one vegetation season. Stand Kocanda presented the microclimatic and ecological optimum; stand Hradecko was on the lower margin of the altitudinal gradient of European beech distribution and presented the limit of low water availability; stand Deštné was on the upper margin of the altitudinal gradient of...
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Study of common bean drought response with the use of leaf optical properties
Svitáková, Lenka ; Lhotáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Zámečník, Jiří (referee)
The negative effects of climate change have affected the conditions of agriculture areas, which leads to hampered cultivation of crops, including the common bean's cultivation. Changes, such as extreme temperature swings and lowered water availability in soil create a big challenge for today's agriculture in seeking solutions for safeguarding the food security for all people on our planet. The aim of this thesis was to study a wider range of genotypes of common bean to quantify their resistance against lowered water availability in soil, and to establish new approaches for detecting drought stress with the use of leaf optical properties. From the methodological point of view, this thesis connects the leaf optical properties with anatomical and biophysical leaf traits. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) were employed as the model organisms. Plants were cultivated in two differing environments - in a greenhouse setting at the Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague and on the experimental fields in Colombia at the international research institute for tropical agriculture - Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT. There were 48 genotypes included into the field experiments in Colombia. These included genotypes from both Mesoamerican...
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Relationship between leaf biochemistry, physiology and specie's competitiveness in selected grasses of relict tundra in Krkonoše Mts.
Mamula, Petr Martin ; Lhotáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Tylová, Edita (referee)
The Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) Arcto-Alpine Tundra is an area that is part of the Krkonoše National Park with a unique ecosystem and biodiversity. In history, this area was very fundamentally influenced by the intervention of man, who farmed here and thus caused the creation of today's rare matgrass (Nardus stricta L.) meadow ecosystem. Thanks to the low growth and sparse foliage of the matgrass, many other plant species grow in these matgrass meadows, which are often endemic and protected by the law. In recent years, however, the matgrass has been overgrown by other grasses, such as the hairy reed grass (Calamagrostis villosa J.F. Gmelin), which, due to its taller growth and dense canopy covering the surface, does not allow the growth of rare species such as matgrass. Therefore, the aim of this work was for matgrass (N. stricta) and three other selected species of grasses - tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv.), moor grass (Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench) and hairy reed grass (C. villosa), to identify, based on biochemical, structural and physiological foliar parameters, a parameter or a combination of parameters that could give competing fennel grasses a competitive advantage. Field research and collection of foliage samples, for subsequent laboratory processing, took place in...
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Does water stress and interspecific competition contribute to the functional divergence or convergence of wetland plant species?
Műnichová, Radka ; Douda, Jan (advisor) ; Alena, Alena (referee)
This diploma thesis is based on the experiment which took 5 years. In 52 plastic containers were planted four species wetland plants; two species of grasses (Calamagrostis canescens and Deschampsia cespitosa) and two species of sedges (Carex elata and Carex elongata). Three types of water regime were set up with: high, low and fluctuating water level, where the high and low level of water took turns after one year. One year before the data collection the strongest competitor Carex elata was cut out. For the evaluation of the role of water level (environmental stress) and removal of the dominant (competition) we selected two functional trait indicators: specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC). SLA is an indicator of resource strategies, competitiveness and efficiency of light photosynthesis. Species with high SLA are usually better competitors for light, but tolerate harder the environmental stress. LDMC reflects a plants investment in persistent leaf structures and therefore in nutrient retention. A significant effect of water regime on LDMC was observed in the species Deschampsia cespitosa that had higher average values of LDMC in dry water regime, which is indicating higher investment into persistent leaf structures. And the effect of the dominant removal on SLA, where the values of SLA in the containers without removed dominant were higher. Increased SLA implies increased intensity of competition for light. My diploma thesis supported that specific leaf area and leafdry matter content are important functional indicators different types of stress conditions in wetland communities.
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Functional trait plasticity in grassland plant species
HAVLÍK, Tomáš
Plant functional traits (plant height, aboveground biomass, R/S ratio, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, specific root length and arbuscular mycorrhizal infection) were measured for several grassland plant species growing under different soil fertility conditions in a greenhouse and a field experiments. Traits` response to nutrient addition and the differences in traits among species and between forbs and grasses were studied. Results from the greenhouse and the field experiment were compared.
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