scholarly journals Monitoring of Ozone Risk for Forests in the Czech Republic: Preliminary Results

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 78-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vít Šrámek ◽  
Radek Novotný ◽  
Emilie Bednárová ◽  
Hana Uhlírová

Ozone (O3) is supposed to represent a significant risk for the health of forest ecosystems in Central Europe. So far, however, its impact on stands growing under natural conditions has not been clearly proved. A new project of the National Agency for the Research in Agriculture is focused on the O3effect on selected parameters of forest health. This paper presents the results of the first year of monitoring, 2005. In 2005, high O3concentrations were measured, mainly in the spring. In the summer, due to wet and cold weather, the O3load was comparatively low. In the plots investigated, the concentrations of O3were higher with the altitude. The amount of epicuticular waxes on 1-year-old Norway spruce needles was the only factor showing significant correlation to O3concentration. Defoliation of the stands depended only on the stand age. The amount of malondialdehyde (MDA), an oxidative stress marker, was related to the altitude, and only for European beech. The results are preliminary, as the summer O3development was not typical in 2005, and the results may change over the next monitoring periods.

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 321-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V Podrázský ◽  
S. Vacek ◽  
I. Ulbrichová

Yellowing of Norway spruce is a relatively common problem in many regions of the Czech Republic. At some places, it is also connected with forest decline. This unfavourable phenomenon is initiated by several ecological as well as anthropogenic processes. One of the most important is the imbalance of forest stand nutrition. Particular reasons lead to nutrient deficiency, especially deficiency of magnesium. Solution to this undesirable trend is a profound ecological analysis and cause-oriented treatments. Besides decreasing air pollution impacts, fertilisation with deficient nutrients represents a successful treatment in the forest stand management in affected areas. In the area of interest, application of relatively small amounts of appropriate fertiliser (SILVAMIX Mg) led to considerable improvement in the defoliation dynamics and yellowing progress since the first year after application.


Author(s):  
Oldřich Mauer ◽  
Martin Rozmánek ◽  
Kateřina Houšková

In 2013–2016, the growth and post – planting losses were monitored of bare – rooted and containerized planting stock of European beech, Norway spruce and Douglas fir together with the course of weather in seven regions of the Czech Republic, most endangered by drought. Precipitation deficits occurred especially in the spring period of 2015 and in the summer period of 2016, significant drought spells being recorded also in the summer periods of years 2013 and 2015. If there is a normal weather after planting, the containerized planting stock exhibits better growth. If the planting is followed by severe spells of drought, both the bare–rooted and the containerized planting stock dies, the containerized planting stock more so. The containerized planting stock responds worse to repeated drought spells. Drought spells are at all times better endured by the containerized planting stock with the large root balls, root ball coverage and strong root collar. Coverage of clear–cut areas is significantly affected by the success of regeneration, which depends on the used type of planting stock, as well as by the spells of drought. Good growth in the first year after planting does not guarantee the success of regeneration, particularly if the containerized planting stock is concerned.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 843
Author(s):  
Ella R. Gray ◽  
Matthew B. Russell ◽  
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione

Insects, fungi, and diseases play an important role in forest stand development and subsequently, forest management decisions and treatments. As these disturbance agents commonly occur within and across landscapes, modeling has often been used to inform forest planning and management decisions. However, models are rarely benchmarked, leaving questions about their utility. Here, we assessed the predictive performance of a Bayesian hierarchical model through on–the-ground sampling to explore what features of stand structure or composition may be important factors related to eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) presence in lowland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B. S. P.). Twenty-five state-owned stands included in the predictive model were sampled during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons. Within each stand, data related to the presence of eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe, stand structure, and species composition were collected. The model accurately predicted eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe occurrence for 13 of the 25 stands. The amount of living and dead black spruce basal area differed significantly based on model prediction and observed infestation, but trees per hectare, total living basal area, diameter at breast height, stand age, and species richness were not significantly different. Our results highlight the benefits of model benchmarking to improve model interpretation as well as to inform our understanding of forest health problems across diverse stand conditions.


Author(s):  
Martin Kropik ◽  
Jiri Duspiva

The contribution provides information about the development of a system for visualization of NPP severe accident progress. This visualization is under development in cooperation of UJV Rez, a.s. and Czech Technical University in Prague. The project is supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and is planned to be solved from 2015 to 2017. The visualization uses results of an analytical code MELCOR for evaluation of the NPP severe accident progress. The visualization firstly reads MELCOR results, transforms them to a suitable format for quick processing and provides graphical screens with reactor components that could demonstrate the progress of the evaluated severe accident. The visualization can even provide parallel presentation of more different scenarios of the severe accident. The system is planned to be used for training of NPP staff to handle severe accidents. In the first year of the project solution (2015), the software for MELCOR data transformation, next for providing information about transformed data were developed. In the following year (2016), software for creation of graphical screens with reactor components and software for severe accident progress presentation is creating. In the final year of the project (2017), thorough testing is going to be carried out, and the applicability of the visualization for a practical use during a NPP staff training is going to be verified.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 344-354
Author(s):  
Novotný Radek ◽  
Lomský Bohumír ◽  
Šrámek Vít

For 17 Norway spruce stands located in the Krkonoše Mts. in the Czech Republic a long-term assessment of defoliation, height increment, foliage concentration of nutrients (N, P, Ca, K, Mg) and stress elements (S, F) was carried out. The results show a decrease of defoliation and a slight increase of height increment, which occur in accordance with the decreasing concentration of sulphur in spruce needles. However, neither sulphur concentration nor height increment trends are significant, suggesting that both the main pollution abatement and the growth resumption took place already in the 1990’s. During the late 1990’s the average spruce defoliation was greater than 35%, while since 2007 it has fluctuated between 18 and 25%, which corresponds with the figures for the forest stands located in the other regions of the Czech Republic. The evaluation of single nutrient concentrations detected occasional deficiencies of P and Mg at individual plots. The good N nutrition (&gt; 15 mg N·g<sup>–1</sup>) in combination with a significantly decreasing trend of P, K and Ca concentrations in Norway spruce needles may potentially constitute a problem in regard to both the future health and the stability of forest stands in the studied region.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 263-274
Author(s):  
Buriánek Václav ◽  
Novotný Petr ◽  
Dostál Jaroslav

This study is focused on testing progenies of common and narrow-leaved ash based on the measurement of provenance trial plots established in various forest regions under different site conditions within the Czech Republic in the spring of 1999. Height and diameter growth of 35 provenances was measured and evaluated at the stand age of 10–14 years. The main goal of this research is to analyse and compare differences in growth between progenies originating from alluvial versus scree habitats as well as between the two evaluated ash species. Moreover, the influence of localities on growth was tested using standard provenances planted on all plots. The results of the last measurement were compared with those from the first survey in 2000 at the age of 4–5 years (1 year after planting). With the exception of DBH on the Koněprusy plot, statistically significant differences in height and diameter growth between provenances were verified. The results confirmed a very strong site influence on growth. The main conclusions indicate significant differences in growth parameters between provenances, faster growth of alluvial versus scree provenances on most lowland plots, and generally faster growth of narrow-leaved ash as compared to common ash.


2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 165-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Stejskal ◽  
R. Aulicky ◽  
Z. Kucerova

This work reviews the historical and current pest risks and research concerning seed storage in the Czech Republic (CR). Stored seed pests (i.e. animals causing injuries to the germ and endosperm) represent a high risk of economic damage due to the high value of seeds coupled with long-term seed storage in small storage units (e.g., boxes, satchels). Rodents represent a significant risk to all types of seeds, especially seeds stored in piles or bags. Mites, psocids, and moths are the main pests of stored grass and vegetable seeds: mites can decrease seed germinability by 52% and psocids caused 9.7% seed weight loss in broken wheat kernels after 3 months of infestation under laboratory conditions. Although beetles (Sitophilus sp., Tribolium sp., Oryzaephilus sp.) and moths (Plodia sp.) are common pests of grain seeds (e.g., wheat, barley, maize), two serious seed pests, Sitotroga cereallela and S. zemays, are rare in the CR. Bruchus pisorum is a common pest of pea seeds, while other Bruchids are rare in the Czech legume seed stores. Currently, the control of seed pests is becoming difficult because the efficient pesticides (e.g., methylbromide, dichlorvos, drinking anticoagulant rodent baits) for seed protection have been lost without the development of adequate substitutes. New research on seed protection in the CR using biological control (mite predators Cheyletus sp.), low pressure, modified atmospheres, and hydrogen cyanide is overviewed. &nbsp;


Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Schwaiger ◽  
Werner Poschenrieder ◽  
Peter Biber ◽  
Hans Pretzsch

The control and maintenance of species composition of mixed stands is a highly relevant objective of forest management in order to provide multifunctionality and climatic resilience. In contrast to this requirement there is, however, an evident lack of quantitative methods for mixture regulation. In this context, we propose an approach for the regulation of mixture proportions that has been implemented in a forest management model. The approach considers species-specific growth characteristics and takes into account the mixing effect on stand density. We present five exemplary simulations that apply the regulation. Each simulation maintains one of five desired species compositions. In these simulations, we consider the species European beech and Norway spruce under good site conditions, thus representing the most prominent mixed stands in Central Europe. Based on this model experiment, we analyze the potential benefit of controlled mixing regulation for achieving desired levels and combinations of ecosystem service provision, in particular productivity, diversity, and groundwater recharge. We found that a constant 50% basal area share of beech (equivalent growing space share of 80% to 70% depending on stand age) provided the most balanced supply of ecosystem services. Prominently, groundwater recharge considerably decreased when beech basal area shares were held below 50%. We discuss the ecological and practical implications of the regulation approach and different mixing shares.


Author(s):  
M. Smigaj ◽  
R. Gaulton ◽  
S. L. Barr ◽  
J. C. Suárez

Climate change has a major influence on forest health and growth, by indirectly affecting the distribution and abundance of forest pathogens, as well as the severity of tree diseases. Temperature rise and changes in precipitation may also allow the ranges of some species to expand, resulting in the introduction of non-native invasive species, which pose a significant risk to forests worldwide. The detection and robust monitoring of affected forest stands is therefore crucial for allowing management interventions to reduce the spread of infections. <br><br> This paper investigates the use of a low-cost fixed-wing UAV-borne thermal system for monitoring disease-induced canopy temperature rise. Initially, camera calibration was performed revealing a significant overestimation (by over 1 K) of the temperature readings and a non-uniformity (exceeding 1 K) across the imagery. These effects have been minimised with a two-point calibration technique ensuring the offsets of mean image temperature readings from blackbody temperature did not exceed ± 0.23 K, whilst 95.4% of all the image pixels fell within ± 0.14 K (average) of mean temperature reading. <br><br> The derived calibration parameters were applied to a test data set of UAV-borne imagery acquired over a Scots pine stand, representing a range of Red Band Needle Blight infection levels. At canopy level, the comparison of tree crown temperature recorded by a UAV-borne infrared camera suggests a small temperature increase related to disease progression (R = 0.527, p = 0.001); indicating that UAV-borne cameras might be able to detect sub-degree temperature differences induced by disease onset.


Author(s):  
Ivana Šafránková

In the years 2005–2007 in a collection of Iris × barbata irises in the Botanical Garden and Arboretum of MZLU in Brno a disease spread appearing in symptoms of poor budding and growth of the irises, or rotting and dying off of the rhizomes. As the causal agent we identified the fungus Botrytis convoluta. In the present study we describe the isolated pathogen. The disease appears in a number of species of the genus Iris and has been reported in the USA, Europe, Israel and Japan. Over a period of three years we evaluated the frequency of incidence of the pathogen in 527 iris cultivars and its distribution on five plots. While in the first year the incidence of the pathogen appeared in 4.4–28.7 % plants, in the last year of our investigations the pathogen spread to 17.7–66.6 % plants. In the course of three years seven cultivars out of the 527 planted out died as a result of B. convoluta attack (i.e. 1.33 %). The results were processed statistically. Spacing of the plants and gradient of the plot influenced the spreading of the pathogen. The weather in the winter played an important role, particularly mild and humid winters with temperatures above 0 °C. Even though B. convoluta was and remains to be a factor limiting the overwintering of irises, there are very few data on fungicide control of irises. Even fewer data are available about the control of irises against latently infected rhizomes. At the present time no fungicides protecting irises against this pathogen have been registered in the Czech Republic.


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