Excursion on Sunday
Departure 8:00 Albertov 6, Prague 2 (in front of the conference venue), arrival to Prague by 20:00
Extra fee of 35 EUR (1) or 45 EUR (2).
Lunch will be provided (sandwich, drink, fruit, biscuit)
The Polomené hory hills
The Polomené hory hills (50.4553989N, 14.5889156E) is a region of Cretaceous acidic nutrient-poor sandstones, located 70 km N from Prague. Up to several hundred meters thick sandstone layers were tectonically torn during the Tertiary, when also a number of volcanic effusive rocks penetrated the sandstone layers. Differential denudation produced bizarre rocky formations with a dense valley network and sandstone cliffs. High relief diversity causes high microclimatic and hydrologic diversity: top plateau, rock cliffs and walls, accumulated material under the rocks, and flat valley bottoms with accumulation of eroded sand. The whole region is fairly species-poor, but with a few notable species of suboceanic or montane distribution and a number of specific bryophyte species. This contrasts with high species richness on occasional loess sediments.
Our 3 km long excursion will start on the plateau of former stands of oak-hornbeam forest. The plateaus are strongly affected by human activity resulting in an anthropogenic mixed forests, but also with remnants of more natural stands. On the edge of the plateau are outcrops of sandstone rocks with species-poor Scotch pine forests, along the slopes the species-poor beech forests and in cold, moist, shadowy, narrow valley Norway spruce forests. Rock walls are densely covered by ferns, mosses and liverworts. The valley opens into the wider Pšovka rivulet valley and ends with isolated stone towers covered with stone “lids”, a product of differential denudation.
