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Department of Vegetation Ecology

Department of Vegetation Ecology

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At the Department of Vegetation Ecology , we focus on widely defined vegetation research and human-environment interactions. There has been a long tradition of vegetation research in Brno. We continue in this tradition and target new specializations and approaches as well. Results of our fundamental research are used in nature conservation and management of natural resources, in cooperation with relevant organizations.

Our activities can be divided into these three main fields:

  • Palaeoecology – deals with nature’s long-term changes and development. The relevant time-span includes the last 10 000 years (the Holocene), with extensions into the older periods. Our palaeoecological research is carried out mainly in the Czech and Slovak Republics, but also abroad (e.g. in Russia). More than 60 years of tradition in this field at our department is nowadays combined with modern approaches.
  • Historical ecology – focuses on the human society as one of the important forces shaping the changes of the natural environment. We are particularly interested in the development during the last 1 000 years. The main sources of information include diverse types of historical documents, such as maps and written records. We approach the investigation of the data sources by methods of humanities and the data analysis and interpretation of results by methods of natural sciences. This field of research is closely connected to archaeology.
  • Vegetation ecology – concentrates on the biodiverstity and species composition of the present plant communities and their ecological determinants. Our main interest in this field lies in the impact of the global environmental changes on plant communities and individual species. We especially aim our attention at the effects of the various types of management and support applications in nature conservancy. Vegetation research is carried out mainly in Europe, with several extensions to the tropics (e.g. Boneo).

 

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