European Journal of Environmental Sciences
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes
<div> <p>The <em><strong>European Journal of Environmental Sciences</strong></em> offers a mixture of original refereed research papers, which bring you some of the most exciting developments in environmental sciences in the broadest sense, often with an inter- or trans-disciplinary perspective, focused on the European problems. The journal also includes critical reviews on topical issues, and overviews of the status of environmental protection in particular regions / countries. The journal covers a broad range of topics, including direct or indirect interactions between abiotic or biotic components of the environment, interactions of environment with human society, etc. For more details see the full Aims and Scope of the journal. The journal is published twice a year (June, December).</p> </div>Institute for Environmental Studiesen-USEuropean Journal of Environmental Sciences1805-0174<p><img src="http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/buttons/88x31/png/by.png" alt=""></p> <p>The journal applies the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=cs&q=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0&source=gmail&ust=1498303854119000&usg=AFQjCNH67tnPLSbE07_rKTEN6OVwmr_ryg">http://creativecommons.org/<wbr>licenses/by/4.0</a>) to articles and other works we publish. If you submit your paper for publication by European Journal of Environmental Sciences, you agree to have the CC BY license applied to your work. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions.</p>The effect of underground drainage on peat meadows and inactivation of the drainage in an attempt to restore these meadows, which failed as it reduced the ability of soils to retain water
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/1051
<p>Drainage is often used to increase agriculture production, but it has adverse effects on biodiversity and water retention. Here, the effect of subsurface pipe drainage on peat meadows near Senotín (Czechia), which were drained from the mid-1980s to 1990s, was studied. Attempts were made to restore the peat meadows by damming drainage pipes using clay-filled trenches in 1996. In this case study, the effect on the depth of the water table, soil water retention, infiltration and soil temperature were recorded. Measurements of the original peat meadow (undrained site), drained meadow (drained site) and restored meadow (restored site) before restoration and two decades after restoration were recorded. The water table in undrained areas was higher than at drained and restored sites, indicating that drainage had lasting effect on drained and restored sites. Infiltration was lowest at the undrained site, greater at the drained site, and highest at the restored sites. Field water capacity was lowest at the restored site, greater at the drained site and highest at the undrained site. Soil water content at maximum saturation was lowest at the restored site, greater at the drained site and highest at the undrained site. Soil temperature was highest at the restored site with no significant difference between the undrained and drained sites. Soil moisture levels were highest at the undrained site and lowest at the drained site. In addition, the undrained and restored sites did not differ significantly in soil moisture content. In conclusion, restoration did not have a significant effect on the level of the water table, initiation of peat formation or ability of soil to hold water.</p>Jimmy Clifford OppongMichal KešnerJana MachačkováJiri KučeraJan Frouz
Copyright (c) 2023 Jimmy Clifford Oppong, Michal Kešner, Jana Machačková, Jiri Kučera, Jan Frouz
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2023-12-172023-12-17132657010.14712/23361964.2023.7Albedo on a glacial foreland at ground level and landscape scale driven by vegetation-substrate patterns
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/1082
<p>Recent anthropogenic climate change has caused both glacial retreat and increased vegetative growth on Arctic and subarctic tundra landscapes resulting in changing albedo and energy budgets. Glacial forelands are topographically and ecologically heterogeneous landscapes comprising ice-contact and outwash deposits subject to primary succession. The most recent moraines on the foreland of the Skaftafellsjökull in southern Iceland are mostly unvegetated, but vegetation cover increases with the age in a general sense. Vegetated outwash channel terraces occur between the moraines, and a broad vegetated outwash plain occurs distal to the oldest moraine. Variations in albedo were measured at ground level to determine the specific role of vegetation types and varying substrates. Albedo and coverage by major plant groups were measured along transects established on moraines ranging in age from 20 to 130 years and the terrace of one outwash channel and three locations on the outwash plain. Total vegetation cover and coverage by mosses increases on the glacial moraines largely as a function of time but is subject to strong aspect effects. Total vegetation cover and moss cover are highest on outwash deposits, possibly due to a sheltered aspect and greater uniformity of the outwash surface. Measured albedo exhibits a modest positive correlation with total vegetation cover and a modest negative correlation with rock and soil exposure. The strongest positive correlation was found between albedo and moss cover. The differences in brightness between moraines and outwash deposits are evident visually at the landscape scale on satellite photographs and quantifiable by image-processing software.</p>Lawrence TannerGenevieve KikukawaKaylyn Weits
Copyright (c) 2023 Lawrence Tanner, Genevieve Kikukawa, Kaylyn Weits
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2023-12-172023-12-17132717910.14712/23361964.2023.8Distribution and invasiveness of four non-native species of plants in ecosystems in the Chorokhi delta (SW Georgia)
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/1008
<p>Chorokhi Delta is known for its high diversity and many habitats, which however are being threatened by invasive plants. Here, the effects of four invasive species of plants, namely <em>Ambrosia artemisiifolia</em>, <em>Sicyos angulatus</em>, <em>Solidago canadensis </em>and <em>Verbena brasiliensis </em>were studied. These species were recorded in the coastal area of the Black Sea and in particular in Georgia for the first time in the first half of the last century and <em>S. angulatus </em>is a very recent arrival. Currently, these species constitute a significant threat to biodiversity at local, national and global levels. These invasive species were monitored from 2021 to 2022. During this period, sites with high densities of the invasive species were identified. For each species, 5 transects were randomly set, and along each of them, 10 plots (1 × 1 m) were surveyed. The density, frequency, coverage and average height of the invasive plants were measured in each plot. These measurements were recorded twice per year for two years (2021–2022). All this information will be used to develop management plans aimed at preventing their further spread or control their abundance. The results indicate that <em>Ambrosia artemisiifolia </em>is the most invasive and widely distributed. <em>Verbena brasiliensis </em>and <em>Sicyos angulatus </em>are also highly competitive species that can seriously affect semi-natural habitats in the Chorokhi Delta and in agricultural land located close to the Delta. Unlike these species, <em>Solidago canadensis </em>is not widely distributed in the area studied. However, its ability to survive in a wide range of habitats and clonal growth indicate that it is potentially a highly dangerous invasive species, which in the future is expected to expand its range and severely affect the semi-natural ecosystems and agricultural land in the Chorokhi Delta. The results of the present study demonstrate the high adaptability of the species studied and their potential for spreading further in the near future.</p>Irakli MikeladzeZurab ManvelidzeDavid TsiskaridzeGogita Shainidze
Copyright (c) 2023 Irakli Mikeladze, Zurab Manvelidze, David Tsiskaridze, Gogita Shainidze
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2023-12-172023-12-17132808910.14712/23361964.2023.9In vitro asymbiotic propagation of the vulnerable slipper orchid Cypripedium cordigerum D. Don
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/841
<p>This paper presents an attempt to establish a protocol for the conservation of <em>Cypripedium cordigerum </em>D. Don a vulnerable species of orchid using <em>in vitro </em>symbiotic seed germination. The suitability of four orchids seed germination media [Terrestrial orchid medium (BM), modified terrestrial orchid seed germination medium (BM-1), Malmgren modified terrestrial orchid medium (MM), Knudson C medium (KC)] was tested using different photoperiods i.e. 24-h dark or 12-h light per day. The seed capsules were harvested at two different stages of development in order to determine the effect of capsule maturity on seed germination. The maximum percentage germination of seed from intact capsules in the dark was 65.00 ± 0.12% on the BM-1 medium. Release of brownish exudates was stopped by the addition of activated charcoal to the cultures. Seedlings developed in 26.17 ± 0.17 weeks. The current study is the first to report the <em>ex-situ </em>conservation of <em>C. cordigerum</em>.</p>Saranjeet Kaur
Copyright (c) 2023 Saranjeet Kaur
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2023-12-172023-12-17132909510.14712/23361964.2023.10Difficulties in determining distribution of population sizes within different orchid metapopulations
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/1107
<p>When examining the probability of extinction of a given orchid species, the species must be viewed as a metapopulation composed of many individual populations connected by migration. In biology, much attention has been paid to the dynamics of metapopulations, especially in the situation where metapopulation dynamics are affected by active migration of individuals between populations. However, this is not the case with orchids. Their seeds are passively spread by wind, and therefore are unable to actively choose the point where they land (passive migrants, unlike, e.g., butterflies, which can actively look for a suitable site that hosts, hosted or can potentially host a population of their species (active migrants). Thus, while active migrants can often find a suitable destination for their migration, passive migrants often die after landing at an unsuitable site. One would therefore expect that, other things being equal, the proportion of suitable sites inhabited by active migrants is larger than that inhabited by passive migrants. In passive migrants (orchids) we may therefore meet metapopulation dynamics of a different, yet unexplored type, in which some existing localities die out and new localities appear, in the vast majority where no orchids have ever grown before. This type of dynamics has not yet been studied anywhere and this paper is intended to be the first step in this direction. The main goal here is therefore empirical determination of actual distributions of population sizes in different metapopulations. We do it in four regions of the Czech Republic and for four species of orchids, considering the factors that influence it.</p>Magdaléna ŠvecováZuzana ŠtípkováIva TraxmandlováPavel Kindlmann
Copyright (c) 2023 Magdaléna Švecová, Zuzana Štípková, Iva Traxmandlová, Pavel Kindlmann
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2023-12-172023-12-171329610910.14712/23361964.2023.11Pollination strategies of deceptive orchids – a review
https://ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/view/1108
<p>Orchids can be classified in terms of their pollination into rewarding species, which produce nectar in their flowers that serves as a reward for pollinators and deceptive species, whose flowers do not contain nectar and save energy for other purposes. This paper concentrates on the latter. Deceptive orchids attempt to deceive their pollinators by being similar to some non-orchid rewarding species, but not providing a reward. Each of these strategies has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of their effect on future fitness of a plant and/or population and subsequently its survival as a species. In summary, the literature indicates that deceptive strategies may lower reproductive success, but may be compensated for in that they cost less in terms of energy. This should be taken into consideration when developing management strategies for these species, which is often done by non-orchid specialists. This article is intended for such non-specialist audience and includes a description of the main types of deceptive strategies used by orchids, as well as examples of the most typical species.</p>Michaela SteffelováIva TraxmandlováZuzana ŠtípkováPavel Kindlmann
Copyright (c) 2023 Michaela Steffelová, Iva Traxmandlová, Zuzana Štípková, Pavel Pavel Kindlmann
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2023-12-172023-12-1713211011610.14712/23361964.2023.12