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The article analyses possibilities of using landscape paintings in the studies of land cover changes. It examines 112 paintings from 1728 till 1976 and compares them with existing topographic maps. It compares land cover depicted in the paintings with present landscape and it studies changes of landscape derived from topographic maps from several periods, ranging from 1764 till 2006. In order to make the analyses, all paintings had to be localised as precisely as possible. This was done with the help of present map and by field work. Field work was also necessary for identifying main land use/cover changes in comparison to landscape painting. A TopoLandUse database, consisting of land use vector data from five periods, based on vectorisation of topographical maps, was used for analysing land use/land cover changes, their rates and main trends.

One of common methods of determining landscape change usually is to compare maps and photographic images of the same places in different time horizons. Landscape painting, which has a long and rich tradition in the Czech Republic, can be used similarly. Landscape-ecological interpretation of selected works by painters of the 19th century - Julius Mařák, František Kaván and Antonín Slavíček was done in this paper. Some pictures of the Českomoravská vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian highlands) by Josef Jambor from the mid-20th century were used for detailed comparative analysis to the level of habitats. We compared 80 landscape paintings and found that most of the painted sceneries have changed for worse.

An invasion of non-native plant species represents the most serious environmental problem threatening the biodiversity and changing the nature of the landscape. A chemical elimination is one of the methods used to fight neophytes. It was carried out in the study area of the Morávka River flowing beneath the Beskydy Mountains between 2007 and 2010. The elimination of Reynoutria spp. was implemented as a part of the ‘Preservation of alluvial forest habitats in the Morávka River basin’ project. The population of the invasive neophyte Reynoutria spp. was eliminated by using a combination of mechanical and chemical treatment. Roundup Biaktiv herbicide was used for the chemical elimination. We investigated the consequences of the areal chemical elimination of Reynoutria spp. on the herbaceous undergrowth of the forest of the alluvium of the Morávka River. A multivariate analysis was employed to examine responses of the spring herbaceous plant species and native and non-native summer plant species composition to the chemical treatment. The hypothesis that consequences of the chemical elimination are not reflected in the spring plant species composition, whereas the applications of the herbicide and their frequency is one of crucial factors for the variability of the summer plant species composition was confirmed. The chemical elimination affected plant species composition of the non-native plant species more significantly than the plant species composition of the native plant species. A higher frequency of herbicide application caused increased diversity of both native and non-native plant species, although more noticeably in the case of the latter ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]