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Summary
Summary
Habitat Catalogue of the Czech Republic
Interpretation Manual for the European programmes
Natura 2000 and Emerald
The Catalogue has been prepared as a manual for
habitat mapping in the Czech Republic, which is
a necessary step towards integration of the country
into international networks of nature conservation.
The Natura 2000 network, developed by
the European Union according to the Habitats
Directive (92/43/EEC), includes Special Areas
of Conservation, whose purpose is protection
of natural habitats, wild fauna and flora. The same
objectives are shared by the Emerald network,
established by the Council of Europe according to
the Bern Convention, whose geographical coverage
also extends beyond the European Union.
As the systems of habitat classification used
in Natura 2000 and Emerald network considerably
differ and, in many respects, do not fit the classification
systems suitable for the national territory
of the Czech Republic, a new system of habitat classification
has been proposed in the Catalogue. This
system is a compromise between the Natura 2000
or Emerald systems and adequate description
of the variation patterns found within Czech habitats.
It is appropriate for description and management
of the Czech natural habitats, while at the same
time remaining unequivocally transferable into
the classifications used in Natura 2000 and
Emerald.
Czech habitats include 58 Natural Habitat Types
of Community Interest, of which 18 are Priority
Habitats according to the Habitats Directive
(Natura 2000), and 45 Endangered Natural
Habitats Requiring Specific Conservation Measures
according to Resolution No. 4 of the Standing
Committee of the Bern Convention (Emerald).
The basic division of the Catalogue is into nine
groups of habitats, including:
V Streams and water bodies
M Wetlands and riverine vegetation
R Springs and mires
S Cliffs and boulder screes
A Alpine treeless habitats
T Secondary grasslands and heathlands
K Scrub
L Forests
X Habitats strongly influenced or created by man
Within each group, habitats are divided into units
(codes such as T8) and subunits (codes such as
T8.2). There are a total of 141 subunits or units undivided
into subunits. For the sake of compatibility
with the Natura 2000 or Emerald systems, additional
subunits were used in some cases, with codes
such as T8.2A. Habitats of group X are described
only briefly, as they are not the focus of nature conservation.
They are, however, necessary for comprehensive
site description.
The name of each unit/subunit is followed by
a brown box, in which links to other systems of habitat
classification are indicated:
Natura 2000. Corresponding Natural Habitat
Types of Community Interest according to Annex I
of the Habitats Directive. Priority Habitats are indicated
with an asterisk.
Smaragd – Emerald. Corresponding Endangered
Natural Habitat Types in the Emerald network.
CORINE. Corresponding units in the CORINE
Biotopes Manual (Commission of European
Communities 1991).
Pal. Hab. Corresponding units in the Palaearctic
Habitats Classification (Devillers & Devillers-
Terschuren 1996).
EUNIS. Corresponding units in the EUNIS Habitat
Classification (Davies & Moos 1997).
Fytocenologie – Phytosociology. Corresponding
alliances, suballiances, and associations of phytosociological
(Braun-Blanquet) classification.
Potenciální vegetace – Potential vegetation.
Corresponding units in the Map of Potential
Natural Vegetation of the Czech Republic
(Neuhäuslová et al. 1997, 1998).
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