Czech LTER

• Czech LTER Website
• ILTER regional network: Europe

The Czech LTER network of 7 sites was proposed and organized by the Czech National MAB Committee. It includes 6 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and one aquatic man-made site, a reservoir in the upper Vltava River watershed. All selected sites have a long history of research. Ecological research (as well as nature protection) in the Czech Republic has a long tradition. Long-term data on biotic and abiotic parameters were gathered by research institutions and universities in specific topics and projects (intensely during the International Biological Programme in seventies of the past century). Governmental and regional organizations perform regular monitoring, for national environmental protection and for the implementation of international conventions.

The geographic location of Czech Republic, between the Hercynian Platform, the Alpine Carpathian System and the Fenno-Scandian Platform makes for highly diverse ecosystems, both abiotic (geology, microclimate etc.) and biotic components.

In the Eastern part of Czech Republic, the Morava River is an important divide between the Bohemian Massif in the west and the Eastern Carpathians in the East. It opens southwards to the Panonian lowlands, providing an important migration route for organisms (including humans) for a very long time.