Czech Republic

Funding Organizations

This project „Standardized European monitoring of plant-pollinator interactions (SEPPI)“ is co-financed from the state budget by the Technology agency of the Czech Republic under the Biodiversity and Climate Change Progamme.

The White Carpathians Protected Landscape Area, a mountain range located on the Czech-Slovak border, is renowned for its exceptionally high local species richness. Its landscape consists of a mosaic of orchid meadows (4,000 hectares), old orchards, flower-rich groves and near-natural deciduous forests, as well as tufa fens and mineral springs.

In 1996, the White Carpathians were designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, recognizing it as a cultural landscape with rich biodiversity and traditional land-use systems. The largest area of this precious habitat - Čertoryje National Nature Reserve and its buffer zone - is part of the Czech national network of research sites dedicated to long-term ecosystem research (LTER).

In the second half of the 20th century, one-third of the grassland area in the region was ploughed. Since 1989, about 7,000 hectares of arable land have been restored by leaving to spontaneous succession or re-grassed by commercial seed mixtures. After 1998, restoration efforts shifted to seed mixtures of local origin.

This study area provides a unique opportunity to investigate the structure, development and functionality of plant-pollinator networks over space and time following restoration.

Eleven pairs of semi-natural and restored grasslands were selected, with both types occurring in close proximity. Each grassland is monitored twice a year (in June and August) using the traditional transect method. To control for weather conditions, each grassland pair is monitored on the same day. The plant-pollinator interactions in the semi-natural grasslands are additionally assessed using automated cameras and colored pan traps.

Automated cameras

Colored pan traps

Traditional sampling in Suchov restored

Develop and test protocols for automated monitoring of plant-pollinator interactions
Compare time efficiency, effectiveness, and cost of method for monitoring plant-pollinator interactions
*Compare structure and functionality of plant-pollinator networks between natural and restored sites
*Compare efficacy of pollen transfer between natural and restored sites

* specific to CZ sites