Volume 2 (2009): Issue 2 (December 2009)

Have we still got time for sustainability and reasonable application of ideas of sustainable development? It has been just over twenty years since the Brundtland Commission Report but, taken as an axiological term; sustainable development resonates with older historical horizons. At the heart of a long running history we are beginning to articulate more or less sustaining relationships between man and nature. We have described the (human) needs in the environmental, economic and social dimension of sustainable development to show some amazing shift in perception of sustainable development from local to global level. We are convinced that historical lesson of sustainable development shows there is no more time for sustainability, but time for SOStainability. Our proposed S-O-S in SOStainability means Save Our Sustainability! SOStainability represents the need to end the compromise between economic development and natural life supporting systems.

Accessibility is an important aspect in the evaluation of suitability of an area in the context of natural resource management or landscape ecology. In many geographic information software packages a distance function is included, but the creation of adequate accessibility models requires more than simple distance calculation and in practice is not that easy. A theoretical test area is used to demonstrate how different terrain variables will influence the results of the application of the distance function. With the understanding obtained that way, the approach is applied in a real case study area to illustrate its possibilities but also some difficulties and limitations that are still encountered.

Quercus polycarpa Schur is a little known oak species of the Sessile Oak aggregate (Quercus petraea s. lat.). Different habitats were studied using geobiocoenological typology system in order to investigate its ecology. In total, 65 experimental plots were set in forest stands with Q. polycarpa in the main storey in 12 protected areas situated in south-east of the Czech Republic. Ecological conditions, basic tree parameters and representation of Q. polycarpa within other oak species were evaluated on each plot. The mean values of height, height of life crown setting, stem and crown diameter were related to sub-categories of geobiocoenological system and compared by one-way ANOVA and Scheffé post-hoc test. It has been found out that Q. polycarpa grow in a high number in the 2nd altitudinal zone. It often occurs in a variety of habitats with different hydric and trophic conditions. As expected, the lowest values of measured parameters were found in the dry hydric range, this species reaches the highest values in the normal hydric and mesic ranges.

The paper is focused on a long-term development of the selected Slovak cultural landscape types (plains, basins, uplands, highlands, and mountains) in approx. 200 years, which shaped the main land use features as well as on the recent transformation trends. The land use development analyses showed that from a long term view perspective several distinct periods can be distinguished. Each of these periods was characteristic for certain land use changes depending both on the landscape character or the socioeconomic situation. The recent trends as land use intensification (intense agriculture, sub-urbanisation, industrial construction) or land use extensification (agricultural land overgrowing) are considered to be common for the entire Slovak territory. Special transformation trends reflect more local conditions, human needs and preferences (construction of water reservoirs, wind calamities or tourism resorts) and though they are spatially isolated and small they influence the majority of Slovak inhabitants.

The article deals with analysis and management of wood debris accumulation in the Morava River within the Special Area of Conservation Litovelske Pomoravi (Czech Republic). Wood debris creates interference of interests between nature conservation (requirements for keeping wood debris in the stream) and foresters as well as water managers (requirements for removing wood debris from the flow area of the river). Based on the presented analyses, there was a set of wood debris management measures proposed in Litovelske Pomoravi in order to respect dynamics of fluvial succession series of floodplain forest biotopes, which are included in the Natura 2000 system.