Slavkov Forest
Slavkovský les | |
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File:Slavkovský les nad Čistou (1).jpg | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Lesný |
Elevation | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
Dimensions | |
Area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
Geography | |
State | Czech Republic |
Regions | Karlovy Vary |
Parent range | Karlovy Vary Highlands |
The Slavkov Forest (Czech: Slavkovský les), also called the Emperor's Forest[1] (German: Kaiserwald), is a highland and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Karlovy Vary Region. Slavkov Forest is also the name of a protected landscape area, partially located within the highland.
Contents
Geomorphology
Slavkov Forest is a mesoregion of the Karlovy Vary Highlands within the Bohemian Massif. It is further subdivided into the microregions of Kynžvart Highlands, Bečov Highlands and Horní Slavkov Highlands.
The region is relatively poorly fragmented. Despite numerous evidence of severe tectonic and erosive disturbance, it is an old well-preserved peneplain from the Oligocene, often with altitudes of around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. It consists of flat and round plateaus of old relief with individual, mostly densely wooded peaks. The highest peaks are Lesný at 983 m (3,225 ft) and Lysina at 982 m (3,222 ft). The lowest point is in Karlovy Vary at 374 m (1,227 ft).[2]
Geography
The forest is a huge water source with direct importance for a large surrounding area, with many notable springs (including mineral water flows). Some of the water from the forest region is used in spas in the western parts of the country. The main watercourse in the territory is the Teplá River. The Ohře briefly crosses the north of the territory.
Slavkov Forest is rather sparsely inhabitated. The southern part of Karlovy Vary is located in the Slavkov Forest. Other notable towns include Horní Slavkov and Bečov nad Teplou, and partially Loket, Březová and Lázně Kynžvart.
Protected landscape area
A large part of the region, 606 km2 all in all, is a protected as the Slavkov Forest Protected Landscape Area (PLA). The name Slavkov Forest is used for both the geomorphological region and the protected area. On the south, the protected landscape area includes also a part of the Teplá Highlands and a small part of the Upper Palatine Forest Foothills, and on the contrary, the easternmost part of the Slavkov Forest geomorphological region does not belong to the protected landscape area. The PLA was established in 1974, with headquarters in Karlovy Vary, and the protection includes 10 nature reserves, 12 nature monuments, and 3 national nature monuments.[3]
Flora
The ancient and heavily eroded mountain range is home to a diverse range of habitats, plants and animals. The southwestern parts holds extensive raised bogs, a peculiar habitat with rare plants like bilberry willow trees (Salix myrtilloides) and the carnivorous round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris). Woodlands cover more than half of the protection, and they are dominated by spruce, with only small remnants of the original beech forest left. The various rock types of the eroded mountains each hosts unique ecosystems. Where serpentinite rock dominates for example, relicts of old-growth scots pine woods can be found in a mix with interesting plants like spleenwort ferns, including serpentine spleenwort (Asplenium cuneifolium), and flowering herbs such as winter heath (Erica carnea), box-leaved milkwort (Polygala chamaebuxus), and the rare sandwort-leaved mouse-ear (Cerastium alsinifolium) that only grows in these forests. In the glades and open areas of the forest, several types of orchids and herbs are also found, including the fragrant, and bright yellow, symbol of the Slavkov Forest Protected Area: mountain arnica (Arnica montana).[3][4][5][6]
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Nature reserve Žižkův vrch in summer 2012 (21).JPG
Deciduous woods (Žižkův vrch nature reserve)
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Potok Mřínek (5).jpg
Conifer dominates most parts of the forests
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Přírodní rezervace Údolé Teplé duben 2019 (6).jpg
Scots pine remain in some areas
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Medvědí rozhledy sleziník nepravý (4).jpg
Spleenwort ferns
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Pr Mokřady pod Vlčkem (6).jpg
Mountain arnica
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Rožec kuřičkolistý (Cerastium alsinifolium) (3).jpg
Sandwort-leaved mouse-ear
Fauna
The fauna is also diverse, but mostly with well-known animals such as deer, wild boar and several types of martens, but also wood grouse and ground squirrel, the westernmost location of this particular species. Birds are abundant, including birds of prey and owls in unusual large numbers. Woodpeckers, such as the great spotted woodpecker, might be heard from mid-winter till summer, and the migratory black storks, are regular breeders in the forest.[3][4]
Threats
The forest has suffered several human disturbances with lasting effects in the last 150 years or so. Because of the soil composition and local geology, tree growth is innately slow in most parts of the forest, and this makes it more difficult than usual for the forests here to recover from any damage or disturbance.
In 1874 to 1894, mono-plantations with European spruce were introduced to some parts, and even-aged spruce woods are still here today. The spruce are not doing well in areas with serpentinite rocks, which leaves safe spaces for the original scots pine. In the 1970s and 1980s, the northwestern parts of Czech Republic was badly affected by atmospheric deposition of sulphur. The sulphur is naturally transformed to sulfuric acid, commonly known as acid rain, and this is toxic to plants, and to a lesser degree animals. Visitors to the area, also inevitably bring in plants and seeds foreign to the original habitat, and some of these new ruderal plants can outcompete local species. In modern times, the tree growth is also stressed from deer and muflon foraging on young trees.[6][4]
Gallery
- Landscapes and nature
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Slavkovský les nad Vítkovem (1).jpg
Extensive grasslands and meadows
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Křížky NPP 06.jpg
Pastures and forested low hills
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Lesný pohled od Hormích Lazů.jpg
Lesný, the highest hill in the Slavkov Forest
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Chodová Planá, Czech Republic - panoramio (21).jpg
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Karlovy Vary Jungmannův altán pohled do údolí Teplé (1).jpg
Teplá River, the main watercourse
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Medvědí rozhledy (4).jpg
Heavily eroded outcrops
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Podleský potok nad Podlesím (2).jpg
Small streams and springs
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Rybník na Stříbrném potoce (2).jpg
Small lakes and extensive boglands
- Features
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Křížky NPP (4).JPG
Křížky National Nature Monument
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Andělská Hora 2017-07-21 Hradní jádro.jpg
Ruins of Andělská Hora castle
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Karlovy Vary Beethovenův altán 3.jpg
Beethoven's Gazebo, a hiking hut
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Andělská Hora 2017-07-21 Severozápad.jpg
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Karlovy Vary Goethova vyhlídka říjen 2018 (1).jpg
Goethe's View (Goethova vyhlídka) observation tower
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KV-Blick-Diana-1.jpg
View across the southern part of Karlovy Vary
Literature
- Jiří Majer: Těžba cinu ve Slavkovském lese v 16. stoleti, Prague, 1970
- Jiří Majer: Die Forstwirtschaft und Holzverwendung in den böhmischen Bergrevieren des Westerzgebirges und des Kaiserwaldes während des 16. Jahrhunderts. in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 43(1997)1, pp. 11–18
References
- ↑ Karlovy Vary/Czech Republic at www.sachsen.de. Retrieved 14 Nov 2016.
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
- Slavkovský les (in Czech)
- Geoparkregionen (in German)
- Landschaftsschutzgebiet Slavkovský les - Kaiserwald (in German)