Žofínský prales
Žofínský prales (German: Sophien-Urwald ) is a protected primeval forest in the south of the Czech Republic . It is located directly on the Austrian border, 15 kilometers southwest of the town of Nové Hrady , in the central part of the Gratzener Bergland . Like the nearby Hojná Voda, Žofínský prales has been under protection since 1838 . The two forests are the oldest nature reserves in the country.
Subsurface and relief
The forest extends at an altitude of 735–830 m on a northeast slope of the 936 meter high Stříbrný vrch mountain. The size of the protected area changed over time, but has remained relatively constant at around 100 hectares since 1933, when it was declared a national nature reserve . Currently (2008) the reserve is 102.71 hectares.
The subsoil consists of granodiorite , which weathered to form a well-drained, deep, loamy-sandy soil layer. Brown earths with a thick layer of humus are predominant as soil types , while peat occurs in moist areas . Water escapes in dozens of seepage springs and flows off in small streams, the gorges of which structure the terrain. Almost the whole area is forested; Clearings and water areas only take up 2.59 hectares of the area. There is no agricultural or built-up area in the reserve.
Origin and development
Impressed by the size and condition of the forest on the Austrian border, the owner of the Nové Hrady estate, Georg Franz August von Buquoy, decided in 1838 to preserve "a clear testimony to bygone times" for posterity. He removed the mountainside from forest management and It prohibited the felling of trees and the gathering of wood. Experts viewed the project with skepticism: William Rowland, a forest engineer in the Buquoys' service from 1843, criticized not only the financial losses. He also suspected that the overaged forest would be completely destroyed within 50 years as a result of storms and snow loads.
The originally 172.6 hectare reserve Rowland shrank radically to 1.7 hectares. In addition, dead wood and uprooted trunks were removed from the remaining core zone until 1882 , and even after the reserve was expanded again, the ban on timber harvesting, especially during the two world wars, could not be upheld throughout. A bark beetle campaign took place in 1947–50 .
From 1849 until the 1990s, the forest was also part of a game reserve . The big game and roe deer caused considerable damage, which mainly affects spruce trees up to 150 years old and is still visible today. Since 1991, a 2 meter high fence has surrounded 80% of the reserve, blocking access to large game and deer. Wild boars, on the other hand, enter the reserve without any major problems. Its influence on development is judged to be rather positive, as the churning up of the ground cover supports natural rejuvenation .
The silver fir originally dominated Buquoy's forest , spruce and beech were mixed in, and sycamore maple and sycamore elm appeared occasionally . After the reserve was established in 1838, the fir trees gradually died and in a transitional period spruce formed the main stand. At the same time, the rise of the beech began, which today makes up over 80% of the tree population.
Flora and fauna
After 170 years with almost no human influence, forest engineer Rowland's prognosis proves to be incorrect. Most of the area is covered with a beech forest, spruce forests can only be found in the wetlands . The predominant forest types are the woodruff beech forest ( Galio odorati-Fagetum ), the hairy barley beech forest ( Hordelymo-Fagetum ), in damp areas the montane beech forest ( Calamagrostio villosae-Fagetum ) and in the spring swamps the horsetail-spruce forest ( Equiseto-Piceetum ) .
The oldest trees are 300–400 years old and 40–50 meters high. Characteristic species grow in the herb layer, for example tooth root , oak fern , woodruff , singleberry , forest sanicle , golden nettle and lettuce . The shamrock foam herb is a regional specialty . In the spring of swamps grow hairy chervil , bitter smock and chrysosplenium alternifolium . On the edges of the wetlands, woolly riding grass , forest grove and forest soldanelle are native.
35–40 species of birds regularly breed in Žofínský prales. A 1997 inventory found 163 species of beetles. The forest is also of outstanding importance for rare mosses (181 species), mushrooms (600 species), snails and insects. People have not been allowed to enter the forest since 1991.
See also
Web links
- Description of the protected area and protection plan, valid from 2004–2013 (Czech; PDF file; 134 kB)
- Žofín Primeval Forest on www.ckrumlov.cz (Czech and German)
Remarks
- ↑ Buquoy's order is received in a letter to his forest inspector dated August 28, 1838. Quoted here from pralesy.cz ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 48 ° 39 ′ 46 ″ N , 14 ° 42 ′ 28 ″ E