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Coppicing is a form of forest management in European broadleaved forests. While it is still practised in south-eastern Europe, in central and western Europe it was almost completely replaced by high forest management. Currently, there are increasing efforts to reintroduce coppice management into former coppice woods. However, little comprehensive knowledge is available about the extent and management of coppice reintroduction and the processes governing it. In this paper, we present an overview of localities in the Czech Republic where coppice reintroduction was taking place in 2020. We identified 8 localities and conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with experts involved in their management in order to understand what motivated them to restart coppicing and what obstacles they have had to face. The main motivation of site managers is nature conservation, while the most important obstacles are operational issues, such as bureaucracy, complicated land ownership and legal responsibilities or lack of workforce. Other motivating factors identified in other European countries (production of a renewable energy source and potential for rural employment) have so far played a minor role in the Czech Republic. We conclude that a major challenge for future forest policies will be to utilise the economic experiences of regions with active coppicing to foster the spread of coppice woods in order to combine renewable energy production with biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services are investigated from many perspectives, but there are very few studies comparing the perception of forest and demand for forest ecosystem services (FES) in a cross-cultural analysis. This study aims to map the demand for FES and find out the forest perception of forest visitors in both Czech and Chinese societies. Data were collected by structured questionnaire among three different groups of respondents (n = 847) in six forest areas. The questions were focused on the demand for FES, expectations from the forest, preference for the visual form of the forest, and the willingness of forest visitors. Analysis demonstrates that the demand for some FES is related to geographical and cultural conditions. The results indicated that provisioning and regulation services are perceived as more important than cultural services. The differences by country were obvious in the cultural and provisioning services: Chinese demand more relaxing and meditation activities, whereas Czech demand mushroom picking. A significant outcome is a high demand of Chinese respondents for recreational facilities. Tree planting was rated as one of the most popular voluntary activity across the whole sample. Meanwhile, some findings point to an increasing pressure on forest ecosystems and their protection, which emerge due to the strong demand for recreational facilities. According to the findings, active involvement of forest visitors in various activities is recommended so that their appreciation of FES will constantly increase and to take into account the profile of visitors and incorporate them in forest management and planning in order to meet societal demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of small rodents on young trees during three growing seasons (2018–2020) in the Czech Republic. Tree damage by small rodents, the quantity and quality of herbaceous plant biomass and the species composition of small mammals were monitored at two sites in European beech forest plantations. The number of trees damaged during three growing seasons correlated positively with fibre content and negatively with nitrogen content in herbaceous plant biomass. The importance of winter precipitation is reflected in the positive correlation with nitrogen content in herbaceous plant biomass. The observed tree-gnawing damage correlated positively with the abundance of one rodent species only—the bank vole. The highest damage occurred after the concurrence of a dry winter and a higher number of voles. Given current climate variability, this situation could become more common in the future. Gnawing may be a limiting factor for the successful restoration of trees with thin bark—in our case, European beech. In addition, the proportion of this woody species should be increased to achieve a more stable and closer composition in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the time of ongoing climate change and the increasing area of post-mining landscape, the successful afforestation of reclamation sites by suitable adaptive tree species is gaining in importance. One of possible ways may be the use of introduced tree species, which is, however, a controversial topic in relation to risks for forest management and nature conservation. The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the forest stands (age 48 years) of 9 introduced and 3 native coniferous tree species in lowland post-mining coal site of the Czech Republic. The research was focused on production potential, health status, resistance to climate change, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and soil properties. The highest timber production, biomass and carbon stock (49–95% above average), was observed in case of Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra and Pseudotsuga menziesii. On the other hand, unsuitable habitat, insect and pathogens caused poor health status and extremely low production parameters (by 55–62% than average) in Pinus strobus and P. rotundata. In terms of climate, Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra, Larix decidua, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Picea omorika were the most resistance tree species in relation to climatic extremes. Conversely, Pinus rotundata, P. strobus, P. ponderosa, Picea pungens and P. abies were very sensitive to climate events, especially to the lack of precipitation in vegetation period with synergism of high temperature. In terms of soil parameters, the content of plant available nutrients (K, Ca, Mg) was adequate except P deficiency. The highest soil reaction was detected for Pinus nigra and P. sylvestris (pH 6.9–7.1) compared to Picea mariana (pH 4.8). The benefits of "suitable" introduced tree species (Pinus nigra, Pseudotsuga menziesii) are high timber production potential and good adaptation and mitigation of the changing climate; however, native tree species (Pinus sylvestris, Larix decidua) can provide better environmental benefits on reclamation sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acorn crops and rodent populations [bank vole (Myodes glareolus), yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), and wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)] were monitored for 11 years (2002–2012) in mature oak commercial forests in South Moravia (the Czech Republic). Large acorn crops, marking so-called seed years, were recorded in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Acorn crops were repeated with period of 3–4 years. The abundance of all three species correlated positively with size of the acorn crop in the previous year. However, significant relationship between the size of the crop and grow of the population was found only in Apodemus flavicollis. Probably because of its food specialty, this species was most affected by acorn crops. Acorn crops had an effect on the breeding season of all monitored rodent species. In autumn of the seed years, the breeding period was prolonged in both Apodemus species; on the contrary, the crop had no major impact on bank voles. The higher the crop, the earlier A. flavicollis began to reproduce in the spring and the sooner it reached its peak and end of reproduction in a given year. The beginning, peak, and end of reproduction were significantly later in bank vole than in Apodemus spp. Lower North Atlantic Oscillation index (i.e. higher temperatures in the vegetation season and lower during winter, "NAO" hereinafter) was more suitable for Apodemus flavicollis. Higher values of the wNAO (winter NAO index) had a positive impact on Apodemus spp. while bank voles were not affected by this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]