Changes in the network of tourist trails in the border zones of the Czech Republic after entering the Schengen area

Among the factors influencing tourist trail network development are political issues, including the presence of state borders, the possibility of crossing them and the accessibility of border zones. In the article, it was decided to look at changes in the offer of tourist trails(hiking and cycling) along the entire border of the Czech Republic after the extension of the Schengen area(within this area, crossing the border is possible anywhere, and not only at official border crossings). It should be emphasized here that the borders of the Czech Republic over most of their length run through mountainous areas and, apart from political factors, natural features should have a major impact on the development of tourist routes. In order to determine the coherence of the current network of trails on both sides of the Czech Republic state border, modern tourist maps have been analyzed, determining the number of places where it is possible to cross the state border with the help of a marked tourist trail. Based on that, two indicators were introduced to determine the degree of openness with all neighboring countries as regards the opportunity to cross on a tourist trail. Changes in the historical situation, a comparison of the accessibility of the border area before entering the Schengen area and 2019, were analyzed for two study areas using archival maps. Over a decade after the extension of the Schengen area, the number of places where tourist trails of neighboring countries approach the border has clearly increased. Crossing is more often made possible using hiking trails than cycling routes(trails of the first type cross the border every 7.91 km, while the latter every 13.3 km), but considering the speed of movement, it can be assessed that the openness for cyclists is higher than for hikers. Moreover, in many places there is still significant potential for further integration of tourist trail networks as trails created in one country often do not have a continuation on the other side of the border.

Plant-Arthropod Associations from the Lower Miocene of the Most Basin in Northern Bohemia(Czech Republic):A Preliminary Report

Terrestrial plants and insects currently account for the majority of the Earth＇s biodiversity, and approximately haft of insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations that date back more than 400 Myr. However, investigations of their past interactions are at the preliminary stages in Western Europe. Herein, we present the first results of our study of various feeding damage based on a dataset of nearly 3500 examined plant specimens from the Lower Miocene of the Lagerstaette Bflina Mine in the Most Basin, Czech Republic. This site provides a unique view of the Neogene freshwater ecosystems. It has long been studied by scientists working in different branches of sedimentology, paleobotany, and paleozoology. The fossils are preserved in three characteristic horizons overlaying the coal seam （Clayey Superseam Horizon, Delta Sandy Horizon, and Lake Clayey Horizon）, reflecting paleoenvironmental changes in a short time period of development. The trace fossils are classified as functional feeding groups or ＂guilds＂, without searching for a direct cause or a recent analog host relation. Approximately 23% of specimens of dicotyledonous plant leaves were found to be damaged and associated with some leaf ＂morphotypes＂. Deciduous plant-host taxa, and those with a chartaceous texture typical of riparian habitats, were frequently damaged, such as Populus, recorded with two species Populus zaddachii and Populus populina （57.9% and 31% herbivory levels, respectively）, followed by Acer, Alnus, and Carya, averaging almost 30% of damaged leaves/leaflets. There has been evidence of 60 damage types （DT） representing all functional feeding groups recorded at the Bflina Mine, including 12 types of leaf mines and 16 gall- type DT. In total, Lower Miocene of the Lagerstaette Bilina Mine exhibits a high level of external foliage feeding types （23.7%）, and a low level of more specialized DT, such as galls （4.3%） and leaf mines （〈1%）. A broader comparison based on DT of the main sedimentary environments shows significance supporting different biomes by frequency of damage levels and DT diversities.

Molecular diversity of barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV from China and the Czech Republic

Wheat yellow dwarf disease(BYD),caused by different species of barley/cereal yellow dwarf viruses(B/CYDVs),is one of the most serious cereal diseases in China and the Czech Republic.Because genetic diversity of the virus directly influences disease epidemiology,the molecular diversity and population structure of 24 Chinese isolates and 16 the Czech Republic isolates of BYDV-PAV from different regions in two countries were analyzed by sequencing their coat protein(CP)and readthrough protein(RTP)domain(RTD)genes and comparing the sequences with six CP and 16 RTP sequences of BYDVPAV isolates from the NCBI database based on nucleotide identity position,phylogenetic analysis and nucleotide diversity.Nucleotide identities between the Chinese and the Czech Republic isolates for the CP were 76.6–99.4%,73.9–89.1%for RTD(ORF5),respectively.The Chinese and the other country isolates showed 74.7–99.2%nucleotide identity for RTP(ORF3+ORF5).Phylogenetic analysis of CP sequences showed that 20 Chinese isolates clustered in the same clade,but the other four Chinese isolates clustered in another clade with the isolates from the Czech Republic and other counties.The population of BYDV-PAV in China had greater nucleotide variability and was more divergent than that in the Czech Republic.Geographical and ecological factors but not hosts might contribute to the population differences in the two countries.

Engineering-Geological Problems in the Moravian Karst,Czech Republic

The Moravian karst belongs to one of the famous karst regions in Central Europe. It is situated in Moravia in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. According to the geology it is of Devonian age and the main rocks are of different types of limestones. The process of karstification is still active. They are many caves with rich stalagmites and stalactites and the Macocha abyss, the depth of which is 138.5 m. The underground Punkva River flows through the main part of the karst, forming beautiful underground lakes. Typical karst phenomena, such as sinkholes and deep canyons, may be observed on the surface of the terrain. Because of the karstification, water erosion and frost weathering, many steep unstable slopes and walls originated. To solve the stability from a geotechnical point of view is not easy. This requests a special engineering-geological knowledge and experience.

Application of the Engineering-Geological Conditions in Land-Use Plans in the Petrvald Region(Czech Republic)

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate necessity to inform relevant parties about engineering-geological conditions for various practical purposes, especially including appropriate land-use planning. However, the relationship between relevant geological information and the geological environment is vital for foundation engineering purposes, especially where demanding structures are involved. This information is most conveniently structured when accumulated information concerning engineering-geological zones is utilized. This necessarily includes knowledge of rock workability and also of the pre-Quaternary bedrock, and these characteristics were then related to the current built-up area and future development according to the land-use plans in a case study are from the Petrvald Region （Czech Republic）. The geological environment of area has been severely influenced by anthropogenic effects of deep black coal mining. Results of this research showed that future development should be founded on spoil banks, dumps, and settling basins. According to the land-use plan, this zone occupies 44.9% of the area of interest, and its materials predominantly emanate from mining in the Ostrava-Karvina Coal District. For future foundation structures planned there, it is imperative to consult detailed engineering-geological study. However, attention to and reliance on this necessity is not reflected in the existing land-use plan.

Unravelling the drivers of technological innovations in the Czech Republic: Do international technological linkages matter?

This study aims to investigate the main factors driving technological innovation within firms in the manufacturing and service sectors of the Czech Republic.We apply a binary logistic regression model to cross-sectional data from 502 firms,obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey.The results of our empirical investigation show that certain elements of the business environment,such as the tax rate,serve as significant obstacles to firms’product innovations.The results also confirm that international technological linkagesdmeasured by international quality certificates and foreign technology licensesdaffect technological innovations.Moreover,we found that internal R&D activities positively impact technological innovation across all sectors;contrarily,we found that process innovation in the manufacturing sector is positively influenced by foreign technology licenses and business association membership.Process innovations in the service sector are positively correlated with external R&D and financing from banking institutions.Finally,business association membership does not positively influence technological innovation in the service sector.Our findings have salient implications for firm managers,policymakers,and scholars aiming to explore and improve innovation outcomes in transitional economies.

Magnetic properties and paleoclimatic implications of loess-paleosol sequences of Czech Republic

Detailed rock magnetic investigations and X-ray diffraction (XRD)were carried out on loess-paleosol sequences of the last interglacial-glacial at Znojmo section in Czech Republic. The results indicate that pedogenesis causes susceptibility enhancement in the paleosols, which is similar to that observed in the Chinese Loess Plateau. k-T curves, IRM, and XRD show that magnetite is the dominant magnetic mineral in the loess-paleosol sequences at the Znojmo section, while maghemite, hematite, and pyrite/pyrrhotite are minor minerals. Measurements of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) indicate that the magnetic lineation is smaller than the foliation. The susceptibility ellipsoids are oblate and the directions of the maximum principal axes (Kmax) are distributed randomly, and cannot be used to determine the paleo-wind direction.

Ecosystem service availability in view of long-term land-use changes:a regional case study in the Czech Republic

This study aims to analyze how changes in land use influenced the delivery of ecosystem services in Cezava,a South Moravian agricultural region in the Czech Republic,in the period of 1845–2010.An observation of this period covering more than 160 years made it possible to reflect on social forces driving processes of transformation in the country.To capture the landscape multifunctionality and to indicate the environmental quality of the area under study,seven services provided in parallel by arable land,forests,and bodies of water were studied.The quantification of ecosystem services is based primarily on the transfer of values from the existing literature and on chronicle reviews and map analysis.Because looking back to the more distant past is a challenge and reliable information resources are lacking,a simple scoring method defining the functional features of the ecosystems was applied in order to evaluate the change of qualitative characteristics of the observed ecosystems.Besides that,the findings of these integrated assessments were supported by an analysis performed using landscape metrics.A comparison of service provision over the decades revealed that regulating and cultural services were significantly reduced,while provisioning services increased due to the proliferation of arable land,land consolidation,and agricultural intensification.However,a trend of improvement in the delivery of ecosystem services was introduced after 1990.Despite several uncertainties,this study demonstrates that it is possible to analyze long-term land-use trends to generate more meaningful,spatially explicit information,which can form the basis for landscape planning and ecosystem management.

Assessing impact of land use and climate change on regulating ecosystem services in the Czech Republic

Ecosystem services,defined as benefits provided by ecosystem functioning to society,are essential to human well-being.Due to global environmental change and related anthropogenic drivers,ecosystems are often degraded,which hinders the delivery of ecosystem services.This study aims to quantify the impacts of land use and climate change on two regulating ecosystem services-carbon sequestration and water purification in terms of nitrogen retention in the Czech Republic.While employing approaches of scenarios and modeling,we illustrate current and potential future status of these ecosystem services.Our results show that among the ecosystem change drivers,one of the dominant domestic land-use change of ALARM BAMBU(Business-As Might Be Usual)scenario is change of arable land and grassland to forest area that increases by 4.5%in 2080 compared to 2000.The results of ecosystem service modeling based on BAMBU scenario for the years 2050 and 2080 indicate that the highest yearly carbon sequestration rate occurred in 2000-2050,reaching 640 GgC·yr^(−1),2000-2080 shows decline in this regulating service by 16%.Average nitro-gen leaching to water streams reached 0.75 kgN·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1)for BAMBU in 2050 scenario and 0.80 kgN·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1)for BAMBU in 2080 scenario as a result of decreasing nitrogen load,which suggested a decrease in nitrogen pollution compared to 2000.Since ecosystem services have not been extensively mainstreamed into research and policies in eastern European countries,we aim to contribute to improvement of knowledge on current status and potential future pathways of the provision of regulating ecosystem services in the Czech Republic.

It is time to change land use and landscape management in the Czech Republic

The identity of man-made landscapes is based on the balance among their ecological,cultural,and economic dimensions.Since the 1950s,short-term economic benefits have globally often outweighed long-term interests.This results in decreased landscape quality manifested as increased erosion of agricultural land,decreased water retention capacity,increased landscape uniformity,and loss of biodiversity.A new phenomenon influencing the condition of man-made landscapes is climate change.Extreme fluctuations of temperature and precipitation have been causing repeated floods and also periods of drought in Europe.Landscapes damaged by inappropriate management are unable to offset these impacts.It is necessary to stop this development by changing land use and management methods to restore the balance among landscape functions.For the Czech Republic,we propose to develop a long-term landscape vision and to formulate a responsible landscape policy with regional strategic goals,including subsidies and penalties(carrots and sticks),based on the principles of the European Landscape Convention.To promote ecological stability,we recommend allocating funds from the Common Agricultural Policy to both the restoration and maintenance of valuable habitats.Landscape research and management(based on habitat/species monitoring in cooperation with stakeholders)must be strengthened in order to play a proper role in the transformation.It is time for clear communication with the public and the training of state officials and land users in spatial and landscape planning.To fill this gap in interdisciplinary cooperation,we call for the establishment of a platform on sustainable landscape management in the Czech Republic.

Inflammatory bowel disease incidence in Czech children:A regional prospective study,2000-2015

AIM To examine the incidence and trends in pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases(IBDs) over 2000-2015 and project the incidence to 2018. METHODS A 16-year prospective study of IBD patients < 19 years of age was conducted in the Czech Republic(the Pilsen region). All incident IBD cases within a well-defined geographical area were retrieved from a prospectively collected computerized clinical database. Historical Czech data were used for comparison(1990-2001). Our catchment population was determined from the census data. We calculated the incidence by relating the number of newly diagnosed cases to the size of thepediatric population-at-risk in each calendar year. Age/sex, disease type, place of residence, and race/ethnicity were identified. RESULTS In total, 170 new IBD cases [105 Crohn's disease(CD), 48 ulcerative colitis(UC), and 17 IBD-unclassified(IBD-U)] were identified. The median age at IBD diagnosis was 14.2 years, 59.4% were males, and 97.1% were Caucasians. A male preponderance of IBD(P = 0.026) and CD(P = 0.016) was observed. With 109209 person-years in the catchment area, the average incidence of IBD per 100000 person-years was 10.0(6.2 for CD, 2.8 for UC, and 1.0 for IBD-U) for children aged 0 to 19 years; for those aged 0 to 15 years, the incidence rate was 7.3(4.6 for CD, 2.0 for UC, and 0.7 for IBD-U). An increase in incidence with age was observed(P = 0.0003). Over the 16-year period, the incidence increased for IBD patients(P = 0.01) and CD in particular(P < 0.0001), whereas the incidence for UC(P = 0.09) and IBD-U(P = 0.339) remained unchanged. IBD-projected data from 2016 to 2018 were 12.1, 12.3 and 12.6 per 100000 personyears, respectively.CONCLUSION Pediatric-onset IBD incidence is around its highest point. The increase, which is particularly pronounced for CD, may be challenging to relate to causes of pediatric disease.

Toward development of ecosystem asset accounts at the national level

Ecosystem accounting has become one of the key components in the revision of international statistical standards.Expansion of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for ecosystem services follows the rapid progress of science in this area as well as expanding applications to sustainability challenges.In this contribution,we discuss approaches to accounting of ecosystem assets as a natural capital basis that is critical for ecosystem service delivery.Based on examples from the Czech Republic,a Central European country,we illustrate the construction of ecosystem extent accounts based on the methodology of Land and Ecosystem Accounting.This analysis is complemented by monetary ecosystem asset accounting through quantification of the present value of future ecosystem service flows.Ecosystem condition is represented by the Mean Species Abundance indicator,which gauges the direction of ecosystem naturalness.Based on the demonstration of approaches to ecosystem asset accounting,we discuss selected aspects of ecosystem condition measurements,valuation,and policy implications of ecosystem asset accounting at the national level.