Diversity of forest lichens – a comparison of managed and old-growth beech and spruce forests in the Czech Republic in the context of virgin forest reserves in the northern Carpathians and Caucasus
| Name: | Diversity of forest lichens – a comparison of managed and old-growth beech and spruce forests in the Czech Republic in the context of virgin forest reserves in the northern Carpathians and Caucasus |
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| Researchers: |
Malíček Jiří (head – principal researcher) Palice Zdeněk (member of research team) |
| Provider: | Grantová agentura Univerzity Karlovy |
| Number: | GAUK-1074416 |
| Realization from: | 2016 |
| Realization to: | 2017 |
| Summary: | This two-year project is divided into three major parts and the extension and completion of our current research is the main goal. In the first part, the old-growth and managed beech and spruce forests in the Czech Republic will be studied in detail. We will try to compare a total lichen diversity of both woodland types and find indicators of old-growth forests. Lichens as very sensitive bioindicators are probably the most suitable model group of organisms for our objectives. Additionally, the lichens diversity in central European forests and its ecological background have been very poorly studied. The second part is focused on a comparison of Czech old-growth forests with the same woodland types in Slovakia and Ukraine as well as in more humid sites in Caucasus. We are going to use a new method of subjective choice of one-hectare plots and several working specialists. This method has been designed for an effective studying of lichen flora in forest ecosystems. We try demonstrate its advantages during the work on this project. In the last part, several new epiphytic species should be described based on material from old-growth European forests. |