Bryophytes, with their more than 860 species, represent more than a quarter of higher plants native to the CR. They can reveal much more about the ecosystems they live in than we would expect, as their physiological contact with the surroundings is much closer than that of the vascular plants. and Jan Kučera.
Detailed knowledge of the circumstances behind the extermination of particular animal species is a key premise for their eventual return, reintroduction and ongoing preservation. Data on the presence of the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) in the Czech landscape are usually limited to simple entries about the day and place where the last specimens in particular (usually mountainous) regions were slain. Demand for more precise data, especially regarding the last documented presence of bear cubs, has emerged in respect of the recently discovered ability of bears to migrate over long distances. The newly collected data allowed the author to present amuch more complete historical view of the process of extermination of the Brown Bear in the Czech territory. and Jan Andreska.
The prolonged survival of the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) population in the Bohemian Forest was largely possible due to the protec tion of this animal, which was considered a rare and desirable trophy. Consequently the bear was able to survive in the Bohemian Forest for a hundred years longer than in the Ore Mountains. Isolated populations in the Sudetes survived in Moravia, and the last specimens were hunted down in the 1740s. Bears hunted down during the 19th century in the Beskydy Mts. can almost certainly be considered casual migrants from the Slovak part of this mountain range. The return of bears to the territory of Moravia and Silesia corresponds with the consolidation of the Slovak population due to the protection introduced in 1932. and Jan Andreska.