Floodplain forest ecosystem / II, After water management measures / [transl. from the Czech: Stephen N. Finn

Technical water management measures in the inundation region of southern Moravia significantly affected conditions of terrestrial and water ecosystems. Changes in ecological conditions and reaction of biota in the ecosystems of floodplain forests and meadows and regulated watercourses and retention reservoirs were studied within the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" programme for several years by a multi-disciplinary team of scientific workers. A broad extent of knowledge from many scientific disciplines enables a deeper insight into complexity of ecological relations after an intervention into landscape to ecologists, water managers, foresters, agronomists and biologists of different specializations. Content: Front Matter Page 3 Copyright page Page 4 Other Titles in this Series Pages 5-6 Contributors Pages 7-8 Preface Pages 19-21 F. Vašíček 1.1 - The landscape of southern Moravia Pages 25-28 F. VAàÍČEK 1.2 - Air pollution Pages 29-32 P. HADAà, F. VAàíČEK 1.3 - The hydrological regime and pollution of waters Pages 33-50 E. KOČKOVÁ, P. HADAà 1.4 - The quality of underground water Pages 51-54 P. HADAà 1.5 - The technical hydroengineering and land reclamation works Pages 55-59 F. VAàíČEK 1.6 - Changes in the use of agricultural land Pages 61-63 F. VAàíČEK 1.7 - The impact of water withdrawal in the floodplain forest Pages 65-68 F. VAàíČEK 2 - The research locality Pages 69-72 F. VAàíČEK 3.1 - The meteorological conditions in southern Moravia following the control of flooding in the floodplain forests Pages 75-80 F. VAàíČEK, J. PIVEC 3.2 - Light conditions in the floodplain forest Pages 81-96 F. VAàíČEK 3.3 - The microclimate of the floodplain forests Pages 97-102 F. VAàíČEK, J. PIVEC 3.4 - Actual and potential evapotranspiration in the floodplain forest Pages 103-120 V. ŽIDEK 3.5 - Atmospheric pollution at the Lednice na Moravě research site Pages 121-125 R. MRKVA 3.6 - Changes in the water table Pages 127-131 A. PRAX 3.7 - Recent soil processes in the floodplain forest Pages 133-141 B. GRUNDA, A. PRAX, E. KLIMO 4.1 - The hydrophysical properties of the soil and changes in them Pages 145-168 A. PRAX 4.2 - The processes of decomposition of organic matter Pages 169-195 B. GRUNDA 4.3 - Changes in the structure and biomass of the herb layer under the conditions of a medium moisture gradient Pages 197-227 F. VAàíČEK 4.4 - The reaction of the shrub layer Pages 229-242 F. VAàíČEK 4.5 - The tree layer Pages 243-263 M. VYSKOT 4.6 - Model of the organic matter flow in a representative ecosystem of the floodplain forest Pages 265-277 M. PALÁT 5.1 - Types of dominance of the herb layer associated with moisture gradients soon after changes in the moisture regime Pages 281-293 F. VAàÍČEK 5.2 - Selected degrees of the soil moisture gradient and the characteristics of primary producers Pages 295-308 A. Prax 5.2.2 - Seasonal changes in the structure and production parameters of five selected types of dominance of the herb layer Pages 309-322 F. VAàÍČEK 5.2.3 - The dynamics of diameter increment of trees under different moisture conditions Pages 323-333 M. VYSKOT 5.3 - Direct and indirect analyses of the environment and herb vegetation gradients: 5.3.1 Soil moisture content in connection with topography Pages 335-354 A. PRAX 5.3.2 - Changes in the herbal vegetation along the topographical moisture gradient Pages 355-386 F. VAàÍČEK 5.3.3 - Indirect gradient analysis Pages 387-393 J. VIEWEGH 6.1 - Water consumption of full-grown oak ( Quereus robur L. ) in a floodplain forest after the cessation of flooding Pages 397-417 J. ČERMAK, J. KUČERA, M. àTĚPÁNKOVÁ 6.2 - The water relations of the herb, shrub and tree layers of the floodplain forest Pages 419-448 M. PENKA 7.1 - Selected groups of insects and harvestmen Pages 451-468 J. KŘÍSTEK 7.2 - The effect of changes in moisture conditions on a community of haematophagous Diptera and ticks in a floodplain forest Pages 469-504 J. KNOZ, J. VAŇHARA 7.3 - A community of small terrestrial mammals Pages 505-521 J. ZEJDA 7.4 - Changes in the structure of the avian community Pages 523-531 Z. BAUER 8.1 - Principles of forest management planning Pages 535-542 D. MACHáČ 8.2 - The recreational use of the floodplain forest Pages 543-547 S. VOLNÝ 8.3 - Some ideas for the optimal exploitation of the wood-producing and non-wood-producing functions of the forest ecosystems in a new ecological situation Pages 549-552 F. VAàÍČEK, J. HROMAS 9.1 - Natural and recultivated meadows Pages 555-569 J. LESÁK, A. PAVLÍČEK 9.2 - The ecology and production of field crops on ploughed meadows Pages 571-586 J. ZIMOLKA 10 - The influence of hydrological works on the water biome Pages 587-606 J. HETEàA, I. SUKOP 11 - Conclusions Pages 607-620 F. VAàÍČEK Index Pages 621-629 Figures — Maps Pages 631,633-636 Plates Pages 637,639-662 For some years, workers have been investigating the possibilities of integrating knowledge from soil and atmospheric sciences, crop physiology, and genetics in order to model crop response to water stress and breed plants for drought resistance. This book turns the theory into practice. Information, gathered from recent symposia and research journals, have been built upon by the authors. Up-to-date practices are cited, new practices devised, and approaches for scientific applications specified. The authors have devised numerous examples and applications for their approaches. Attention has been given to making these approaches credible in the light of economic and energy limitations. Because application of such practice over a wide area requires wide-areal sensing and measurement, recent advances in remote sensing for these purposes are outlined with methodology for practical application. The book will be of interest to a wide readership including crop managers and producers, soil scientists, agricultural micrometeorologists, plant breeders, water managers and stress physiologists The ultimate motivation for the study which is the subject of this book was the need to draw conclusions on the impact of man's activity on natural ecosystems. The results characterize the situation of the south-Moravian floodplain forest in the period of fading uncontrolled floods before the extensive technical measures successively changed the moisture regime by eliminating inundation and lowering the level of underground water.

This publication is unique in Czechoslovakia as it records the ecological situation in the floodplain forest prior to the major and irreversible changes. The study also documents the exceptional role played by the Central-European floodplain forest in maintaining the gene pool and structure of the one thousand or so species in flora and fauna of an agricultural region.