Department of Population Ecology - The Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Department of Population Ecology > 08. Landscape ecology

Department of Population Ecology

08. Landscape ecology

Landscape ecology

Plant populations only rarely evolve and exist independently of their surroundings and landscape context. We study patterns of species diversity and distribution in relation to landscape characteristics such as environmental factors, landscape configuration and landscape history, but also to species characteristics such as local population dynamics, species dispersal abilities and other plant traits. We examine the determinants of species distribution both at the level of individual species using species-specific spatial models and at the level of whole communities using comparative analyses and regression models. Our landscape-level research is mainly focused on grasslands with the attempt to better understand their high species richness.