Radim Hédl
head of department
+420 541 126 219
radim.hedl@ibot.cas.cz
Google Scholar
Researchgate
Twitter
I am interested in what is happening in nature, and I devote my professional work to that. As a vegetation ecologist, I am dedicated to study spatiotemporal patterns in plant communities. Forests have always drawn my attention, so I devote research efforts to forest vegetation and specifically to biodiversity and dynamics of the herbaceous layer. Forest environments are important not only for plants but also for humans. I focus the respective part of my work on the importance of forests to human societies – both in the past and present… and sometimes for future!
I spend much time collecting botanical and ecological data directly in the field. This is because I consider empirical evidence the basis for formulating scientific conclusions. I have built my experience mainly in the temperate climatic zone of central Europe and North America, but also in the equatorial tropics of Borneo. I try to formulate the resulting findings not only for experts but also towards the interested public. The application focus of my work includes the management of forest ecosystems, including the restoration of traditional management forms for conservation.
Since 2004 I have been working as a researcher at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno. And since 2015 I also teach and supervise students at the Department of Botany, Palacký University in Olomouc. To get qualification to do this, I first studied biology and geobotany at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague (B.Sc. 1998, M.Sc. 2001). Then I defended my PhD at the Faculty of Forestry, Mendel University in Brno (PhD. 2005). In addition, I studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (Mg.A. 2003). There is not much difference between science and art.