Southern Moravia Research Articles

Abstract In current ornithological literature, there is a general consensus that the eagle owl (Bubo bubo) is a breeder of rocky habitats in Slovakia, especially on cliffs and quarry walls, but little research to date has concentrated on cases of ground-nesting in the lowland areas of the country. This study provides an overview of the documented cases of eagle owls breeding in lowland forests, a relatively unusual method of breeding for this species. The authors also report a recent case of an eagle owl breeding on the ground in a floodplain forest at the small settlement of Sedín near the forest edge in the western part of the Danube Lowlands. The nest was located in a shallow basin at the base of a large white poplar (Populus alba) tree, just 3 m from an oxbow lake. The site was visited three times between 12 April and 12 May 2024, and three young birds were observed in the nest, all of which likely fledged successfully. Prey remains from the nest were analysed and the results are presented here together with those of five other eagle owl nests from the lowlands of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the nest near Sedín, the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) was the predominant prey species, in contrast to a location near Vojčice in the East Slovak Lowlands in which the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) predominated or nest sites in Southern Moravia and the Třeboňsko region of the Czech Republic where larger birds were the main prey.

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of the examination and restoration treatment of the stucco decoration of a lunette with the sculpture of Mars located in the Bučovice Château in southern Moravia. The sculptural decoration of the Château represents one of the pinnacles of Renaissance stucco art north of the Alps in the second half of the sixteenth century. A unique combination of materials and techniques was used in its creation. The figure of Mars is based on a re-purposed terracotta statue, finished with stucco, polychrome painting, gilding, and coloured glass inlays. The aim of the current restoration was to reduce an inconsiderate intervention from the 1950s and restore the original to an earlier historical form that corresponds to the artistic conception of the neighbouring statues and the rest of the decoration of the chamber. The restoration was based on an interdisciplinary analysis of the statue's original technique, material composition, and surface finishes, including gilding and glass inlays. A complex examination was undertaken as part of the larger project ‘Renaissance and Mannerist Stucco Art in Bohemia and Moravia.’ The intervention involved testing conservation methods, such as consolidating the ground layer, cleaning, removing overpaint and secondary gilding, and reintegrating missing terracotta parts and surface finishes. The choice of the method for retouching the gilded areas was of particular importance because it allowed the possibility to preserve the existing fragments of gilding and, at the same time, visually connect them as a whole.

Histoplasmosis is caused by a thermally dimorphic ascomycete fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. Europe has long been considered a non-endemic area for histoplasmosis; however, in recent decades, sporadic cases of histoplasmosis have been confirmed in the European badger (Meles meles) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In 2014, an adult male badger carcass was found on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Brno (Southern Moravia, Czech Republic). A gross pathological examination revealed a good overall body condition prior to receiving multiple traumatic injuries from a car impact. However, multiple irregular nodular lesions measuring up to 5 cm in diameter were observed on the skin of the ventral part of the body and the thoracic limbs. Histopathology revealed a granulomatous inflammatory reaction in the lesions, with abundant macrophages multifocally forming large multinucleated giant cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells and scarce granulocytes. The macrophages contained oval to spherical 2.5–3.0 μm yeast-like structures in the cytoplasm. These stained mildly to moderately with haematoxylin and eosin and well with periodic acid Schiff, revealing a small central nucleus surrounded by a clear zone. Other organs showed no macroscopic or microscopic pathology. The internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence from the skin was identical to a sequence previously detected in a H. capsulatum-infected badger in Germany. This case report detailing cutaneous histoplasmosis in a European badger marks the first documentation of H. capsulatum in the Czech Republic and emphasises the potential for early detection of new and emerging pathogens through wildlife disease monitoring.

Abstract Spiders are generalist predators able to respond very well to environmental conditions. Therefore, they are good bioindicators for forest management practices. The vertical distribution of spiders in forest stands has very rarely been studied. Thus, we investigated patterns in species richness, diversity, life‐history traits and functional diversity of spiders within the aboveground vertical stratification of oak dominated forests and their response to the canopy cover gradient. There were three localities sampled during four growing seasons (2008–2011, Southern Moravia, Czech Republic). Spiders were sampled monthly by flight intercept traps, which were placed in three stratigraphical levels of oak stands. Altogether, 3592 spiders, representing 18 families, and 112 distinguishable species were collected during the study. We found that species richness, total abundance the abundance of ambush hunters, other hunters and scarce, rare and very rare species of spiders increased from ground level to the canopy, and that species composition changed across the vertical gradient. Some of these characteristics were significantly influenced by interaction with canopy cover. Less common ballooning species preferred the ground part of forest stratification. Canopy cover evaluation showed that the abundance of orb web weavers and less common ballooning species was highest in the more closed canopies. The opposite trend was found for sheet web weavers, very abundant species and open habitat species. Space web weavers, other hunters and very common ballooning species showed increased abundance in the higher layers under conditions of more open canopy cover. Our results suggest that sampling spiders across the vertical gradient of forest stands might be important for a proper biodiversity and management practice evaluation, although most recent assessments were conducted on ground‐dwelling spiders obtained from pitfall traps.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the utilization of YouTube as a data source in crisis management, focusing on human behavior during a tornado event in the Southern Moravia Region, Czech Republic, in 2021. Utilizing YouTube's Data API, we harvested video metadata and content to explore spatio-temporal patterns in disaster impact and recovery. Our analysis reveals how YouTube content reflects the immediate and long-term responses to the disaster, offering insights into community reactions, damage extent, and recovery processes. By integrating automated and manual content analysis, we uniquely demonstrate YouTube's potential in enhancing spatial analyses and visualizations for disaster management. This research underscores the value of social media data in providing multiple perspectives on human behavior during and after disaster, contributing to a nuanced understanding of disaster impact and community resilience.

The family Cimicidae comprises ectoparasites feeding exclusively on the blood of endothermic animals. Cimicid swallow bugs specifically target swallow birds (Hirundinidae) and their nestlings in infested nests. Bugs of the genus Oeciacus are commonly found in mud nests of swallows and martins, while they rarely visit the homes of humans. Although—unlike other cimicid species—the house martin bug Oeciacus hirundinis has never been reported as a vector of zoonotic pathogens, its possible role in arbovirus circulation in continental Europe is unclear. Samples of O. hirundinis were therefore collected from abandoned house martin (Delichon urbicum) nests in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) during the 2021/2022 winter season and checked for alpha-, flavi- and bunyaviruses by RT-PCR. Of a total of 96 pools consisting of three adult bugs each, one pool tested positive for Usutu virus (USUV)-RNA. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the virus strain was closely related to Italian and some Central European strains and corresponded to USUV lineage 5. The detection of USUV in O. hirundinis during wintertime in the absence of swallows raises the question for a possible role of this avian ectoparasite in virus overwintering in Europe.

Abstract In this study, we investigated the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) breeding in lowland forests in the trans-border area between western Slovakia, eastern Austria, and southern Moravia. The research provides new information on the reuse of nests by eagle owls and presents initial insights into population density and trends of eagle owls in the March-Thaya floodplains. Our 19-year monitoring has shown that the eagle owl has become a widespread breeder over the study area, with an increasing population trend. A total of 151 breeding attempts by eagle owls have been identified, occupying 82 natural nests (originally built by at least nine species of birds) and 12 artificial nests. With an average of 6.2 active nests per 100 km2 and a maximum of 17 active nests found in 2021 (~10.6 pairs per 100 km2), our findings represent one of the highest eagle owl breeding densities found, especially in comparison with core populations nesting in the mountains (the Carpathians, north-eastern Alps and the Bohemian Massif). Regarding the dynamics of nest reuse, our results reveal that only a third of nests used by eagle owls were reused by other raptors or storks (Ciconia sp.). Almost 50% of the natural nests in which eagle owl bred, subsequently disintegrated after the owlets had fledged. Lastly, black stork (Ciconia nigra) nests re-used by eagle owls were twice as likely to have disintegrated after the owlets had fledged than nests built by other bird species. Our results suggest that black stork nests in the March and Thaya floodplain forests are most susceptible to destruction.

In July 2021, leaves and shoot tops of the common hazel (Corylus avellana L.), with a whitish coating, were found in the Czech Republic (southern Moravia region). The infected hazel bushes were found along a road in a deciduous forest and in an urban garden. In most European countries, Phyllactinia guttata is found on the abaxial surface of the leaves in the form of a continuous whitish to light grey mycelium, possibly with large black chasmothecia. In our case, the mycelium was present on both sides of the leaves, but the symptoms and the incidence were much stronger on the adaxial side. The first symptoms usually appeared on the adaxial side of the leaves as small white radially expanding patches of mycelium. In the final stage, the spots merged and covered a substantial part of the leaf blade (50–85 % on the adaxial side, 5–25 % on the abaxial side). When the abaxial side of the leaves was infected, chlorotic spots were evident on the adaxial side. The spots of powdery mildew were small (3–15 mm), whitish, rounded to irregular, effuse eventually becoming confluent, and occurred primarily on the adaxial side of the leaves. Conidiophores (30–53×4–6 µm) grew on the amphigenic mycelium, were erect, consisted of 1–3 cells, i.e. cylindrical foot cell and followed 1–2 cells, from which hyaline ellipsoid to doliform-limoniform conidia (17–34 ×15–21) (n = 50) were individually detached. Single or in groups dark brown chasmothecia (77–116 µm in diameter) had up to hyaline 8–15 aseptate straight appendages (50–102 µm) with multiple (3–5×) dichotomously branched apexes and recurved tips. Chasmothecia contained 3–6 asci (42–62 × 34–55 µm) with 4–8 obovoid to broadly ellipsoidal hyaline ascospores (14–22 × 75 µm). Based on morphological characters, the powdery mildew was identified as Erysiphe corylacearum (2). Morphological identification was confirmed by molecular analysis of samples. DNA was extracted from symptomatic leaves tissue using the DNeasy Plant Mini Kit, (Quiagen, Hilden, Germany) and the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region of 2 isolates was amplified using primers PMITS1 and PMITS2 (Cunnington et al. 2003) and sequenced. BLAST analysis of our 720bp fragments (both identical and represented by GenBank accession no. OR432526) showed 100% sequence identity to ITS rDNA sequences of E. corylacearum other countries of Central Europe for example from Austria (MW031866), Italy (MW045428), Hungary (OQ411007), Germany (OP554268) or Slovakia (MT176105). Pathogenicity was verified on two-year-old plants of Corylus avellana. Healthy leaves were artificially infected by dusting conidia from infected leaves. Inoculated plants were incubated under controlled conditions (21–23 °C, 70–80 % relative humidity). Characteristic symptoms of powdery mildew appeared on the adaxial side of the leaves 9–12 days after inoculation. Control plants treated with distilled water remained symptomless. Powdery mildew isolated from inoculated leaves was morphologically identical to isolates from naturally infected leaves. The first record of E. corylacearum in Europe on cultivated hazelnut species was reported by Sezer et al. (2017) in Turkey in 2013. Within a few years, the E. corylacearum spread and was recorded on various species of Corylus in other European countries (for example Mezzalama et al., 2020; Rosati et al., 2021; Beenken et al., 2022; Boneva et al., 2023), East Asia (Arzanlou et al., 2018) and the USA (Meparishvili 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Erysiphe corylacearum in the Czech Republic.

Hybridization is a widespread and important force in plant evolution. It can either hinder speciation or result in the formation of new species. Repeated hybridization with backcrossing with one or both of two hybridizing species is referred to as introgressive hybridization and leads to the introgression of genetic variation from one taxon to another or to other taxa. Hybridization can have consequences for rare species if they are in contact with a more abundant relative with incomplete genetic barriers, as it can lead to genetic erosion, population decline and even the extinction of species. Hybridization between two closely related species of the genus Urtica were studied where the rare diploid species U. kioviensis and the widespread species complex U. dioica with two cytotypes (2x and 4x) occurred at six sites in central Europe. Flow cytometric relative genome size estimation, morphometrics and analyses of nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers were used to confirm the hybrid origin of intermediate plants. The results provide proof of both homoploid (2x × 2x) and heteroploid (2x × 4x) hybridization. The detected continuous variation in relative genome size and morphology at the diploid level indicate homoploid hybridization between U. kioviensis and the diploid cytotype of U. dioica; subsequent introgression is possible but not proved with certainty and needs further study. Triploid individuals were also detected, showing differences in relative genome sizes and different positions in morphometric analyses compared to the parental taxa. They also have lower fertility (pollen viability, 68.9%) compared to their parents and diploid hybrids and no introgressive hybridization (back crosses) involving triploids was recorded. Based on the results, it is not possible to unequivocally determine their origin. They may be triploid hybrids between U. kioviensis and tetraploid U. dioica, between diploid and tetraploid cytotypes of U. dioica and between diploid hybrids (U. kioviensis × U. dioica 2x) and tetraploid U. dioica. The frequency of hybridization differs between sites; the highest risk of genetic erosion was recorded at Plačkův les in southern Moravia (Czech Republic), where it might be a threat to U. kioviensis via both genetic and demographic swamping. The results also demonstrate a case where hybridization could pose a risk to small populations of a rare species and highlights the increasing need to protect endangered species of plants.

The earlier Gravettian of Southern Moravia-the Pavlovian-is notable for the many raven bones (Corvus corax) documented in its faunal assemblages. On the basis of the rich zooarchaeological and settlement data from the Pavlovian, previous work suggested that common ravens were attracted by human domestic activities and subsequently captured by Pavlovian people, presumably for feathers and perhaps food. Here, we report independent δ15N, δ13C and δ34S stable isotope data obtained from 12 adult ravens from the Pavlovian key sites of Předmostí I, Pavlov I and Dolní Věstonice I to test this idea. We show that Pavlovian ravens regularly fed on larger herbivores and especially mammoths, aligning in feeding preferences with contemporaneous Gravettian foragers. We argue that opportunistic-generalist ravens were encouraged by human settlement and carcass provisioning. Our data may thus provide surprisingly early evidence for incipient synanthropism among Palaeolithic ravens. We suggest that anthropogenic manipulation of carrion supply dynamics furnished unique contexts for the emergence of human-oriented animal behaviours, in turn promoting novel human foraging opportunities-dynamics which are therefore important for understanding early hunter-gatherer ecosystem impacts.

Study Region:The Thaya river basin provides multiple water uses in the transboundary region of Lower Austria and Southern Moravia. Due to the low precipitation (P) to reference evapotranspiration (ETo) ratio, the Thaya river basin is among the most sensitive to climate change in the region. Study Focus:The main objective is to understand the changes in the water balance variables including actual evapotranspiration (ET), P and runoff (RO) and their drivers for the period 1981–2020, and 2001–2020 in the case of using remote sensing data. New Hydrological Insights for the Region:The analyses confirm previously reported increasing trends in air temperature, ETo, and no trends in P. ET consistently increased during spring and decreased during summer, although insignificantly. This change was associated with a significant increase of spring vegetation development followed by summer stagnation. The spring RO shows significantly decreasing trends, especially in the upland water source areas. The correlation analysis reveals a different behavior along the altitude gradient, with ET in the uplands generally limited by available energy whilst in the lowlands by available water in spring. In summer, however, the entire basin is often water-limited, with a more pronounced limitation in the lowlands. Complex adaptation measures reflecting the different hydroclimate relations across the altitudinal gradient are needed to sustain the water dependent sectors operating in the region facing increasing aridity.

In the Kurovice Quarry (southern Moravia), the paleoenvironmental conditions around the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary were deciphered using geochemical, magnetic, macrofaunal, microfaunal, and ichnologic evidence. In addition to weakly bioturbated horizons, four discernible ichnologic assemblages (IA1–IA4) were distinguished. Geochemical changes were recorded both between individual ichnologic assemblages and within them. IA1 is dominated by Chondrites, Thalassinoides, and Nereites, accompanied by Bergaueria and Phycodes, and occurring in pelagic sediments. IA1 also occurs in an impoverished form, in deposits characterized by a low ichnofabric index (i.e. impoverished IA1). IA2 consists of Trypanites in layers with microbially induced sedimentary structures; it is present in beds 20–21. IA3 is represented by subvertical shafts filled with pyrite and Trypanites isp., found in beds 30 and 63–72. IA4 consists of common Balanoglossites and rare Trypanites, Thalassinoides, and Planolites; it occurs in beds 102–104, 126–127, and 137–140. Four intervals with prominent Balanoglossites (IA4) and occasional Trypanites (IA2) mark probable hardgrounds and/or condensed deposits. These deposits are also characterized by slightly increasing magnetic susceptibility and enhanced biogenic reworking. Enhanced bioturbation/bioerosion commonly concords with higher susceptibility intervals. Geochemically, the beds hosting impoverished IA1 show a slight decrease in the δ13Ccarb followed by an increase in the δ13Ccarb values; this may reflect a general rise in productivity accompanied by organic matter burial. Similar trends in the δ13Ccarb values are also associated with the IA2 and IA3 characterized by the presence of vertical pyrite-filled tubes. Increases in δ18Ocarb values within IA2 and IA3 are interpreted to express cooling episodes suggesting a rise in oceanic productivity. Therefore, this primary isotopic signal reflects nutrient changes within an open ocean, which is not (in this case) influenced by bioturbation activity. IA4 (Balanoglossites) is characterized by an apparent increase in δ18Ocarb values (the trend is similar to that in IA2 and IA3) but δ13Ccarb values are stable.

ABSTRACT The temporal dynamics of aquatic invertebrate communities are known to be influenced by the length of hydroperiods, but only temporary wetlands with relatively long hydroperiods have been well studied. By contrast, few studies have focused on ephemeral wetlands, primarily represented by extremely ephemeral rock pools. In Central Europe, many ephemeral wetlands develop spontaneously directly on arable land, often on the sites of former natural wetlands that have been drained and converted to agricultural land. Here, we focused on aquatic invertebrates in 10 ephemeral pools over periods of inundation to desiccation on arable land in southern Moravia. Despite relatively short hydroperiods of 5–11 weeks, we observed significant changes in community composition, including species replacement. Dynamics differed between macroinvertebrates and microcrustaceans and between different macroinvertebrate feeding and dispersal groups. Predation pressure increased over time and was highest during drying. Passive dispersers were most abundant during the middle phase, whereas the abundance of active dispersers increased throughout the hydroperiod. Because no significant effect of any environmental factor was detected on community change, we hypothesized that community dynamics were driven by differences in species traits and biotic interactions rather than by the changing environment. This study fills a knowledge gap on the temporal dynamics of aquatic invertebrate communities in temporary wetlands by investigating wetlands with short, but not extremely ephemeral, hydroperiods.

In order to evaluate influential mechanisms for photosynthetic processes on the yields of an intercropping system composed of maize (Zea mays), Lupinus sp. and Melilotus albus, three treatments were designed and conducted in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) in the form of agronomy trials. The treatments included sole maize (SM), maize with Lupinus sp. (ML) and maize with field melilot (MM). The photosynthetic processes of Zea mays were monitored using several chlorophyll fluorescence techniques on the three treatments for 20 days in the late summer season. An analysis of fast chlorophyll fluorescence transients (OJIP) showed that the capacity of photochemical photosynthetic reactions in photosystem II (FV/FM), as well as the photosynthetic electron transport rate (ET0/RC), declined in response to a four-day episode of extremely warm days with full sunshine. Similarly, the performance index (PI), an indicator of general plant vitality, declined. The episode activated protective mechanisms in photosystem II (PSII), which resulted in an increase of thermal dissipation. For the majority of Z. mays photosynthetic parameters, their values decreased for particular treatments in the following order: MM, ML, SM. The MM and ML intercropping systems had a positive effect on the primary photosynthetic parameters in Z. mays.

This article re-examines the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) industry, a well-known Early Upper Paleolithic complex in northern Europe. It is widely thought that the LRJ was produced by late Neanderthals and that its industrial roots are in late Middle Paleolithic industries with bifacial leaf points in north-western Europe. On the basis of evidence from four recently excavated open-air sites in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) (Líšeň/Podolí I, Želešice III/Želešice-Hoynerhügel, Líšeň I/Líšeň-Čtvrtě, and Tvarožná X/Tvarožná, “Za školou”), combined with findings from two cave sites in Bohemia (Nad Kačákem Cave) and southern Moravia (Pekárna Cave) and critical re-examination of the LRJ sites and materials from other areas, we propose that the LRJ should actually be considered a late Initial Upper Paleolithic industry. Its initial dates are just before Heinrich Event 4 (HE-4) and the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption, c. 42–40 ka cal BP. We further propose that LRJ assemblages were produced by Homo sapiens, and that its roots are in the Bohunician industry. The LRJ originated as a result of a gradual technological transition, centering on the development of Levallois points into Jerzmanowice-type blade-points. It is also suggested that the LRJ industry first appeared in Moravia, in central Europe, and spread along with its makers (Homo sapiens) across the northern latitudes of central and western Europe. Accordingly, the IUP “Bohunician package” did not disappear in Europe but gave rise to another IUP industry successfully adapted for the then steppe-tundra belts in northern Europe.

Economically underdeveloped rural regions in Southern Moravia and possible strategies for their future development

This study presents a summary of sixty years of air temperature and precipitation measurements at the Žabčice weather station, located in the southeastern Czech Republic and operated by Mendel University in Brno. An instrumental dataset spanning two climatological normal periods (1961- 1990 and newly established 1991-2020) is analyzed for long term linear trends with monthly data presented in full span in Appendices. In the new climate normal period, the mean annual temperature increased from 9.3 °C to 10.3 °C with growing trend of 0.34 °C/10 years (p < 0.001). Every calendar month of year is warmer, with the highest and fastest increase in August (+2.0 °C, 0.64 °C/10 years, p < 0.001) and the lowest in October (+0.2 °C). Annual precipitation sum increased negligibly (+11.1 mm), however, the quarterly distribution significantly changes towards drier second quarter (-22.9 mm, p < 0.05) and wetter third quarter (+37.1 mm, p < 0.05). Number of tropical days (maximum daily air temperature > 30 °C) significantly increased (+4.44/10 years, p < 0.001), whereas number of frost days is negligibly decreasing (-0.88/10 years). Temperature derived Huglin index for vineyards increased by 369 °C to a seasonal sum 2062 °C (+84 °C/10 years, p < 0.001). This study provides evidence of the rate of changing climate at this southern Moravia lowland site. This study provided a summary and trend analysis of instrumental air temperature and precipitation dataset measured at Žabčice locality during the period 1961-2020, supplemented with selected agroclimatic indices. The dataset was utilized to establish a new climatological normal for the period 1991-2020 and both normal periods 1961-1990 and 1991-2020 were compared. We can conclude, that the mean air temperature is increasing on monthly, quarterly and yearly timescales. The fastest warming trend was observed during the growing season, peaking in June-August. There is an evident increase in extreme heat waves and other temperature-related indices, such as the Huglin index, suggesting a further rise in air temperature in the near future. Annual precipitation sums increased negligible, however, we can confirm a change in temporal distribution on an annual scale, in terms of decrease in the second quarter and increase in the third quarter. Supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic for the project SustES - Adaptation Strategies for the Sustainability of Ecosystem Services and Food Security in Adverse Natural Conditions, Project No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000797, and by the National Agency for Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Project No. QK1910338 "Early warning agrometeorological system for biotic and abiotic risks".

The use of ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) geophysical methods are considered a useful tool for assessing forest soil slope instabilities. These techniques provide a detailed survey regarding changes because of logging operations in an area, where the combination of soil, water, and rock conditions predisposes to the development of slope instabilities. In the current study, such geophysical survey techniques were applied at two localities, Bukovinka and Zemanův žleb near Křtiny (Southern Moravia, Czech Republic), during three sessions over 1 year. The selected survey sites were on different terrains but the same subsurface (sediments of Lower Marine Carboniferous). The condition for their selection was the absence of other major external influences apart from wood harvesting. The GPR and ERT measurements were carried out along the same lines, and changes in the geophysical profiles over time were observed. The results demonstrate the processes that lead to visible changes on both localities in the results of measurements. Both methods showed shifts in some soil properties configuration, separating partial rock masses or even incipient soil/rock movement. The ERT also detected a significant expansion of wet areas inside both studied rock masses, which may be because of the development of new channels for infiltration of rainwater. Considering that the only major external factor that could change the slopes drainage properties was the wood harvesting, it is reasonable to conclude that the observed changes are associated with the logging operations.

The paper examines the identification, distribution, chronology and interpretation of Roman-Provincial rimmed storage vessels, which were among the Roman imports to the area north of the Danube in the 2nd century and the first half of the 3rd century. The spread of Roman coarse ware storage vessels occurred in the second half of the 2nd century. These are mainly found in Elbe-Germanic settlements (usually in sunken huts) in southern Moravia and south-western Slovakia. Some were quite voluminous (e.g. the storage vessels from Jevíčko and Křepice were up to 50 litres) and probably contained a variety of plant or animal foodstuff (e.g. seafood, exotic fruits, and various fermented or chilled foodstuffs).

Environmental factors controlling the Last Glacial multi-phase development of the Moravian Sahara dune field, Lower Moravian Basin, Central Europe