Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are introduced to the environment from anthropogenic and natural sources.The most significant natural source of PAH are wildfires and volcanic eruptions.The PAHs occurring in the soil mostly bind to the root system of plants.Phytodegradation, specifically rhizospheric degradation, can reduce the PAH levels in soil with the help of plants roots.A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of application of soil amendments on the PAHs level in the burnt soil (BS).The aim of this study was to assess the effect of application of soil amendments (compost, biochar, and bentonite) on the PAHs level after performing experiment with two grass species (Lolium perenne, Festuca rubra).Biochar and compost turned out to be the most effective amendments, regardless of the used grass species.Phytomanaged BS without added amendments also demonstrated the potential for PAH dissipation, but only in the case of Festuca rubra.It has been proven that the application of soil amendments together with the test grass species induced important changes in the BS properties (alteration of soil pH with related change of K ow of individual PAHs; root system on which soil microorganisms thrive) which evoked an increased bioavailability of PAHs.

Wildfires are occurring with an increasing frequency, and substances they generate can negatively affect the environment. A pot experiment with Lolium perrene was performed on burnt soil supplemented with organic (biochar, compost) and inorganic (NPK fertilizer) supplements and combinations of soil amendments in order to assess the possibility of aided phytomanagement of fire-affected areas. Soil amendments affect more aboveground biomass growth than underground biomass growth. Organic amendment, biochar, and compost promoted aboveground biomass growth; however, they did not increase the bioconcentration of metal elements in the roots. Unamended burnt soil achieved the highest bioconcentration of metal elements in underground biomass, while it produced significantly less aboveground biomass than burnt soil amended with biochar and with compost. Based on the ash composition from this study, aided phytostabilization appears to be a suitable phytomanagement method, as the priority is to rapidly recover vegetation in order to prevent soil erosion. This study therefore recommends selecting a suitable phytoremediation method based on the composition of ash.

Abstract This study provides an illustration of the contemporary extinction trend of a selected wet grassland species, Pedicularis sylvatica, within a region of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic. Historically, it was a relatively common species in the study region, but it has been severely reduced in recent decades due to the abandonment of the traditional management of the grasslands, or inappropriate management practices, including extensive drainage, fertilisation, and liming. Low precipitation in recent years, a depleted soil seed bank, inbreeding in small, isolated populations, the inability to germinate, and the emergence of seedlings can also play an important role. After personal resurvey, P. sylvatica was not confirmed on 28 % of the localities where it was documented between two and 20 years ago. In a selected south-eastern subregion, only one of 19 localities persist nowadays. A steep decrease of local subpopulations of P. sylvatica points to the holistic problem of both the low-productive wet meadow species’ extinctions and their habitat collapses in central Europe. Without proper protection and management, it is likely that low-productive wet meadows will continue to decline and, in the next few decades, only a fraction of today’s already faint frequency will remain within a few higher-elevated subregions.

The paper presents the results of the study on participative mapping of landscape values and conflicts and a subsequent interpretation of the indicated localities from respondents’ point of view. The study focused on younger groups of landscape users—lower-secondary-school students (aged 11–15) and university students (aged 20–25)—in comparison with experts’ points of view. The research presumed that the perception of landscape values and issues are determined by age, level of education and by experience in the field. The study was conducted in the southeastern area of the Czech Republic (49° N, 16° E) via online data collection. Based on the obtained records, we conclude that, in terms of the typology of the valuable and problematic locations, the individual groups of respondents did not differ significantly and the selection of location types was similar across all groups. Lower-secondary-school students rather identified cultural values associated with everyday activities, and the descriptions contained emotional overtones. University students preferred natural values associated with formal values based on general consensus or conflicts associated with society-wide impacts. The experts base served as the benchmark for other groups.

Most fen and wet-meadow habitats in the Czech Republic have been transformed by drainage, fertilizers inputs and ploughing for agriculture purposes. At nowadays, despite regular management measures at many sites, we can see qualitative deterioration and gradual area loss of the low-productive wetland habitats. Using local historical vegetation data and current data, we demonstrate changes in studied natural habitats at 24 localities within southeastern Bohemian-Moravian Highlands after twenty years. The original habitats were found as same only at three localities, while the rest of localities changed somehow. Less than two-thirds of fens and wet meadows remained preserved up today, whereas a significant area changed into mesic meadows, reed beds, willow carrs, young alder forests or even ruderal vegetation, tree plantations or arable land. The main cause of degradation is mainly the abandonment of the traditional use, resulting in eutrophication and succession leading to above mentioned secondary habitats. Moreover, the deliberate destruction of the habitats for agriculture or forestry use was also documented.

The general extinction of organisms belongs to significant environmental problems through the world. In addition to the rare species which long-term occurred only on several localities, we face today the problem of a massive retreat of number of species that perhaps seven decades ago were considered to be relatively common. Primarily competitive weak species retreat or local extinct in behalf of the stronger competitive ones, the better adapted to human-modified eutrophic agriculture landscape. Using very detailed local floristic data of Pedicularis palustris and P. sylvatica north of Velke Mezirici (southeastern Bohemian-Moravian Highlands), we demonstrate continual retreat of species abundances in two-time periods, recent situation with state approximately twenty years ago. Pedicularis palustris was historically known from two localities in the region, both of them disappeared and the species has not been found for more than ten years. Pedicularis sylvatica survives only on a third of the sites known from 1990s, with a large decrease in abundances. Multiple factors, eutrophication, abandonment of land, warmer and drier climate periods, unsuitable local-management practices in some cases, speed up significantly the process of local species extinction, within a relatively short time period of twenty years. Similar fate has met also other species of plants or animals in different regions.