Central European System Research Articles

Relation of genetic phylogeny and geographical distance of tick-borne encephalitis virus in central Europe

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the most important arboviral agent causing disease of the central nervous system in central Europe. In this study, 61 TBEV E gene sequences derived from 48 isolates from the Czech Republic, and four isolates and nine TBEV strains detected in ticks from Germany, covering more than half a century from 1954 to 2009, were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic and Bayesian phylodynamic analysis to determine the phylogeography of TBEV in central Europe. The general Eurasian continental east-to-west pattern of the spread of TBEV was confirmed at the regional level but is interlaced with spreading that arises because of local geography and anthropogenic influence. This spread is reflected by the disease pattern in the Czech Republic that has been observed since 1991. The overall evolutionary rate was estimated to be approximately 8×10(-4) substitutions per nucleotide per year. The analysis of the TBEV E genes of 11 strains isolated at one natural focus in žďár Kaplice proved for the first time that TBEV is indeed subject to local evolution.

Teleseismic tomography of the mantle in the Carpathian-Pannonian region of central Europe

SUMMARY Subducted slab roll-back, lithospheric instability and asthenospheric extrusion have all been proposed as mechanisms that explain the evolution of the extensional Pannonian Basin, within the convergent arc of the Alpine–Carpathian mountain system in central Europe. We determine the P- and S-wave velocity structure of the mantle to depths of 850 km beneath this region using tomographic inversion of relative arrival-time residuals from 225 (P waves) and 124 (S waves) teleseismic earthquakes recorded by 56 stations of the Carpathian Basins Project (CBP) temporary seismic network (16-month duration) and 44 permanent seismic stations. The observed median P-wave relative arrival-time residuals vary between −1.13 s (early) in the Alps and 1.12 s (late) at the western end of the Carpathians; S-wave relative arrival-time residuals are about twice as large (−2.13 s and 3.39 s). We tested the effect of deterministic corrections on our relative arrival-time residuals using crustal velocity models from controlled source experiments, but show that the use of station terms in the inversion provides a robust method of correcting for near-surface crustal variation. Our tomographic models reduce the P-wave rms residual by 71 per cent to 0.130 s and our S-wave rms residual by 59 per cent to 0.624 s. At shallow sublithospheric depths we image several localized lower velocity regions, correlated with higher heat flow and interpreted as upwelling asthenosphere. We image a high velocity structure down to depths of about 350 km beneath the Eastern Alps. Further east, beneath the Pannonian Basin, a deeper continuation of the Eastern Alps fast anomaly is imaged trending E–W from ∼300 km depth and extending into the mantle transition zone (MTZ). In the MTZ we image a fast anomaly extending outwards as far as the Carpathians, the Dinarides and the Eastern Alps. This higher velocity mantle material is interpreted as being produced by a mantle downwelling, whose detachment from the lithosphere above may have triggered the extension of the Pannonian Basin.

Population Systems of thePelophylax esculentusComplex in the Southern Part of Its Range

We explored the population systems of Pelophylax esculentus at the southern border of the distribution range for this complex. We used both morphological data and allozyme markers to describe population systems in this region. All three taxa in the complex, P. ridibundus, P. lessonae and their hybridogenetic form, P. kl. esculentus occurred in the research area. In four localities that were analysed near the Danube River, we found complex population systems of both the parent species and their hybridogenetic form. Southward from the border defined by the Sava and Danube riverbanks, only the P. ridibundus — P. kl. esculentus (R-E) system was detected. Among these R-E populations, the abundance of the hybridogenetic form declines sharply from the north to the south. The most common and widespread system in Central Europe, the P. lessonae — P. kl. esculentus population system, was detected in only one locality near the Sava River.

A continuous high‐resolution dust record for the reconstruction of wind systems in central Europe (Eifel, Western Germany) over the past 133 ka

The last glacial cycle in Central Europe is dominated by processes of aeolian dust transport and accumulation. These dust deposits are preserved in soils and lake sediments and provide detailed information about the climate variability during cold and dry periods. Especially the transitions from warm into cold periods are characterized by turbulent climate conditions. The main problems of terrestrial paleoclimate reconstructions are the completeness of the core material and a sampling resolution. To detect single dust storms we use a particle detection method, which allows high resolution, sub‐annual analyses of sediment structures in undisturbed samples. The ELSA (Eifel Laminated Sediment Archive) stack is a compilation of four different lake sediment cores of the Eifel region (Western Germany) and comprise the period of the last 133 ka. The results of our analyses show high frequencies of dust storm events during the first cold events C24 and C23 after the last warm stage. In opposition, the coldest periods of the last glacial cycle OIS‐4 (70–60 ka BP) and OIS‐2 (35–14 ka BP) are characterized by stable climate conditions that provide the accumulation of homogenous dust sediments.

Distribution of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in temperate freshwater systems

The presence of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAPs) was recently reported from various marine environments; however, there is little information regarding their distribution in fresh waters. We surveyed a number of freshwater systems in central Europe, by infra-red fluorometry, infra-red epifluorescence microscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy and pigment analyses. AAPs were found to be abundant in several oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes (50-400 ng of bacteriochlorophyll a l(-1), 10-80% of bacterial biomass), while in more eutrophized water bodies they represented a negligible part of the total microbial community (< 1%). The observed freshwater AAPs were morphologically diverse and different from previously observed marine species. Under temperate European climatic conditions, AAP populations undergo strong seasonal changes in terms of both abundance and species composition, with the maximum biomass in summer and the minimum in winter. In the mountain lakes Certovo and Plesné, AAPs contributed more than one half of total bacterial biomass during their summer maximum. These results show that photoheterotrophic bacteria represent an important part of the microbial community in many freshwater systems.

Quantity or Quality? Re-Assessing the Role of Supreme Jurisdictions in Central Europe

Over the last decades, the ever growing caseload in supreme and constitutional jurisdictions all around Europe has forced some of them to reassess the role and functions they should be fulfilling. This article offers, on the example of the Czech Republic, a case study of this phenomenon and also an example of a legal transplant being implanted and partially rejected by the receiving system. This case study is, however, placed in the broader context of the role of supreme courts in the post-Communist Europe and the on-going Europe-wide debate. The first part of this paper provides a general overview of the ideal models of supreme jurisdictions and the respective interests these models are predominantly called upon to realise in the various systems. The second part places the Czech example and other Central European systems into this broader picture and then discusses, using the example of civil and administrative justice, the selection mechanisms that have been put in place. The third part deals with tensions between supreme jurisdictions and the constitutional court in the same jurisdiction as far as the selection of cases is concerned. The final, fourth part, discusses broader policy issues and outlines some of the implications that the introduction of filtration devices in the access to supreme jurisdictions might have on the legal system as a whole.

Setting Attainable Goals of Stream Habitat Restoration from a Macroinvertebrate View

Abstract Many efforts have been undertaken to reduce the impairment of stream ecosystems by wastewaters and other pollution, leading to a remarkable improvement of the water quality in most parts of Central Europe. Actually, the most severe disturbance to stream systems in Central Europe is the structural degradation of stream morphology. Restoration practices increasing the structural heterogeneity of formerly degraded stream sections are necessary to create new habitats at different scales that could provide habitat for a diverse invertebrate community. Increasing biodiversity of aquatic invertebrates strengthens the ecological integrity of streams and is therefore a desirable goal in stream restoration. Nevertheless, recent studies focusing on the effect of structural restoration of stream sections often displayed results that did not really met the preset goal of increasing invertebrate diversity. This might be due to sometimes severe disturbance caused by the restoration practice itself, impairing the established invertebrate community in the restored stream section. Additionally, the potential for immigration of new species into the restored stream section is often limited. Therefore, several important prerequisites must be accounted for in the planning of restoration practices to improve structurally degraded stream sections, when the goal of restoration is increasing invertebrate diversity.

The stable isotope archive of Lake Pannon as a mirror of Late Miocene climate change

Lake Pannon was a long-lived Miocene and Pliocene lake system in Central Europe with a famous endemic mollusc fauna. The radiation of melanopsid gastropods and dreissenid bivalves has been explained simply by the opportunity to settle empty ecological niches after the extinction of marine life at the end of the Middle Miocene. This model, however, fails to explain the offset in the timings of evolutionary pulses in different mollusc families. Stable isotope data (oxygen, carbon) indicate a strong climatic forcing on these radiations. Moreover, the investigated time span covers the well-known Vallesian optimum and subsequent crises in European terrestrial ecosystems during the Late Miocene. The new palaeoclimatic data on the strongly changing isotope patterns of mollusc aragonite of Lake Pannon might shed light on the mechanisms acting during this crucial period. According to the new interpretation, the early lake (∼ 11.6 Ma) was still influenced by the latest Middle Miocene dry spell. This phase coincided with a pronounced radiation of melanopsid gastropods. During the warm early Late Miocene (∼ 10 Ma) humidity increased and culminated in a phase with high summer precipitation. This caused a reorganisation of the coastal–deltaic faunas, suppressing the radiation of melanopsids. On the other hand, high nutrient loads favoured the dispersion of filter-feeding dreissenids. Despite steadily declining salinity, Lake Pannon remained an alkaline lake with pronounced stratification that was apparently periodically disrupted only during the humid early Late Miocene. A separation of the isotope data into genera and ecological guilds is the prerequisite for discussing overall trends of long-lived lake systems.

Sustainability in multi-aged stands: an analysis of long-term plenter systems

Long-term research plots in multi-aged stands managed with the plenter system were assessed to evaluate sustainability of the plenter system in Central Europe. Plots primarily consisted of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst., silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) or European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and were measured for seven to 16 measurement intervals over 60–91 years. Sustainability was assessed with four types of criteria: stand density, tree species diversity, basal area increment, and stand structure. Comparable even-aged stands were also analysed to compare and evaluate the performance of the measures of sustainability. Measures of species diversity, increment and stand structural diversity generally experienced increasing trends over time in these even-aged stands. Basal area generally increased and trees ha-1 decreased in multi-aged stands following similar patterns as in even-aged stands. These results suggest that the plenter system is still evolving and is not the model of sustainability often assumed. Many of the measures used have potential as indicators of sustainability in multi-aged stands.

ROTOR, a tool for generating and evaluating crop rotations for organic farming systems

As with conventional farming, the improvement of organic farming systems requires agronomic planning tools to enhance economic performance. Crop rotation planning plays a crucial role in organic arable farming systems due to the renunciation of mineral nitrogen fertilisers and pesticides. Our objective was to develop a tool for generating and evaluating site-specific and agronomically sustainable crop rotations for organic farming systems in central Europe. The resulting static rule-based model, called ROTOR, consists of two basic steps: (A) A set of annual crop production activities (CPAs) is assembled semi-automatically from single site and crop-specific field operations using a relational data base. The database includes all relevant crops recorded separately with inputs and outputs, machinery and timing. Starting from stubble tillage and ending with the last harvest measure, the CPAs describe the current best cropping practices. Different CPAs are included for each crop according to (i) the type of crop preceding and (ii) the field operations following: whether ploughing or non-inverting tillage, undersowing crops, using catch crops, manuring, straw harvesting, or mechanical weed control. The former allows for the modelling of all possible positions of a crop within a crop rotation and the consequential effects of preceding crops. The CPAs are evaluated using rule-based assessment modules for yield, economic performance, N balance, nitrate leaching, and weed infestation risks. These modules have been developed using data from field experiments, farm trials and surveys, expert knowledge and a soil–crop simulation model. (B) Within the crop generation module, all possible sequences of CPAs are linked to 3–8-year preliminary crop rotations. Agronomically sustainable crop rotations are selected according to exclusion criteria (i.e., thresholds for N balance, weed infestation risks, phytosanitary and chronological restrictions) and ranked, e.g. by economic performance. The model was tested by comparing (i) estimated with observed yields and (ii) generated with existing rotations. These comparisons, based on data obtained from two farm surveys from North Eastern Germany, indicate the validity and usability of the model approach. ROTOR was found to support the complex crop rotation planning in organic farming systems requiring rotations with overlapping undersown main and cover crops. ROTOR is able to reduce the risk of planning failures by offering a quantitative method of optimisation of weed and site-specific N management.

EU enlargement and party systems in Central Europe†

EU enlargement and party systems in Central Europe†

Population genetics of the European trout (Salmo truttaL.) migration system in the river Rhine: recolonisation by sea trout

Abstract – Allozyme genetics (34 loci) is studied in up to 1010 European trout (Salmo trutta) from the Rhine, Meuse, Weser, Elbe and Danube river systems in Central Europe. Population samples from single collection sites, chiefly small streams (GCG = 0.2126), rather than the divergence of the trout from Atlantic and Danubian drainages (GSG = 0.0711), contributed to the overall gene diversity ofGST = 0.2824. Sea trout (n = 164) and brown trout (n = 767) in Atlantic rivers adhere to the same biogeographical stock, but anadromous trout from the Rhine and the Elbe display more genetic cohesion than resident brown trout from the Rhine system alone. Strayers from the Elbe could have founded the recently re‐established sea trout population of the Rhine, after a few decades of absence or precarious rarity. Migrants may even connect the Rhine and Elbe stocks by ongoing gene flow. A release–recapture study confirms that all trout in the Rhine belong to one partly migratory population network: Six of 2400 juvenile sea trout released into a tributary of the Rhine were later recorded as emigrants to the Rhine delta, against three of 1600 released brown trout. One migrant had entered the open North Sea, but the other dispersers were recorded in fresh waters of the Rhine delta (Ijsselmeer, Amstelmeer). Stocking presumably elevated both heterozygosity and fixation indices of brown trout, but this effect is subtle within the range of the Atlantic population group. Improved sea trout management in the Rhine, and modifications to brown trout stocking in the upper Danubian area are recommended.

Social Security Systems in Central Europe during the Transition Period

Social Security Systems in Central Europe during the Transition Period

Die Böhmische Escompte-Bank nach dem Zerfall der Habsburger Monarchie – eine Bank zwischen Eigentümerund nationalen Wirtschaftsinteressen

The collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy marked a watershed for the development of financial markets and banking systems in central Europe. The successor states of the Monarchy tried to establish own financial systems soon after their independence. In the First Czechoslovakian Republic a special legislation of nostrification should weaken the position of investors and banks from abroad, especially from Austria. A reorganisation of a large number of business and financial institutions, whose majority of shares belonged to foreign capital groups before autumn 191 8, was the consequence of this nostrification initiated by the Czechoslovakian governm nt in 19 19. This procedure took place for one of the greatest banks in Prague, the Bohmische Escompte-Bank, in summer 1919. What measures were undertaken, what were the motivation and strategies of the most prominent actors, what were the results oft the intended nostrification of the Bohmische Es-

Mass casualties after an explosion

Because of the intifada, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become characterized by violence against civilians on both sides. Since the early 1990s, this conflict has seen directed operations performed by suicide attackers, whose goal is to kill civilians who are not direct participants in the confrontation. For urban and local hospitals this means that they must always be aware of being confronted with limited multiple-casualty incidents. This has required a restructuring of emergency plans at the scene and in the hospital. At the scene the incident is classified according to the number and degree of injury of the victims. The accumulation of such incidents made it necessary in Israel to change views of the system of triage, which has essential differences from the central European system. Apart from changing preclinical and clinical management algorithms, the surgeons specialized in casualties must be prepared for a new quality of injuries. Barotrauma of the lung and multiple, seemingly superficial injuries often only emerge later as life-threatening and lead to the paralysis of intensive care and surgical capacity.

Numerical models of tectonic deformation at the Baltica–Avalonia transition zone during the Paleocene phase of inversion

Predictions from dynamic modelling of the lithospheric deformation are presented for Northern Europe, where several basins underwent inversion during the Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic and contemporary uplift and erosion of sediments occurred. In order to analyse the evolution of the continental lithosphere, the equations for the deformation of a continuum are solved numerically under thin sheet assumption for the lithosphere. The most important stress sources are assumed to be the Late Cretaceous Alpine tectonics; localized rheological heterogeneities can also affect local deformation and stress patterns. Present-day observations available in the studied region and coming from seismic structural interpretations and stress measurements have been used to constrain the model. Our modelling results show that lateral variation in lithospheric strength below the basin systems in Central Europe strongly controls the regional deformation and the stress regime. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the geometry of the boundary between Baltica and Avalonia, together with different rheological characteristics of the two plates, had a crucial role on local crustal deformation and faulting regime resulting in the Baltica–Avalonia transition zone from the S–N Alpine convergence.

Monitoring of sawfl y ( Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae ) infestation on spruce

A new method for evaluating damage caused by tenthredinids to Norway spruce stands is based on defoliation of the top whorls. A scale with four classes of defoliation was established that is easy to use. Defoliation can be displayed graphically on a grid map (Central European system), in which the map fi elds are delimited by parallels of latitude (6 by 6 minutes) and meridians (10 by 10 minutes) with an approximate size of 11.2 × 12.0 km. The degree of defoliation for an entire forest can be marked by circles of different size in the map field. The range and intensity of an infestation, and the change in defoliation from year to year are easily seen.

Popular Gymnastics and the Military Spirit in Germany, 1848–1871

Over the course of the nineteenth century, a popular nationalist movement developed in the German states that had gained considerable strength by 1871, the year of unification. The German gymnastics association movement was one of the main forms in which popular nationalism was organized. It was started by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn early in the nineteenth century as a means to train young Germans to fight the French occupation. Gradually, it developed into a movement that sought to unify Germany, a project that was not, at first, supported by the German states. The movement was also guided by liberal and, especially before the revolution of 1848, democratic principles, and in this sense, too, was at odds with the reigning political system in Central Europe.

Restoration of Natural and Semi‐Natural Wetland Systems in Central Europe: Progress and Predictability of Developments

AbstractAfter almost 40 years of experience in wetland restoration in Central Europe in which vegetation changes have been monitored by means of permanent plots or vegetation maps, some light can be shed on the intrinsic dynamics of such ecosystems, showing the limits of restoration and constraints in its manipulation. Sometimes such constraints in the restoration process can be identified, mostly being constraints in nutrient availability or in the water regime, but unexpected changes can also be the result of intrinsic species fluctuations or invasive species. Unexpected vegetation developments are sometimes undesired, can be very persistent and may indicate that environmental conditions are not suitable for target communities. Unexpected developments also illustrate the limits in restoration ecology. Very often the restoration process simply proceeds along successional pathways we did not anticipate. Theories about such alternative pathways can be explored using prediction models, such as cellular automata, which can handle the results of biomonitoring very efficiently. Biomonitoring during 40 years, however, has also shown that a certain amount of unpredictability has to be taken for granted, both in natural wetlands and in areas under restoration.

Financial regulation and financial system architecture in Central Europe

At the beginning of the transition, advice to Central European countries with respect to how to set up their financial systems was based on models used in western economies. This paper analyzes the experiences to set up a financial system in Central Europe. The experience in the first transition years (1990–1996) with financial system architecture shows that changes are slow but that the Central European countries tend to catch up more quickly with the western ones in the case of their banking systems than with respect to their stock markets.