This thesis deals with black carbon, its characteristic features and with its occurrence in chernozemic soils. In particular, this thesis deals with methods, which can study presence of black carbon in soils. The presence of black carbon and the whole composition of soil organic matter of three chernozemic soils in Czechia (Zeměchy, Tursko, Syrovice) is examined by 13 C NMR spectroscopy. Anthracological analysis of charcoal from fossil chernozems of Zemechy loess ravine deals with pedogenesis of chernozems and development of Quaternary vegetation in Central Europe. Coniferous tree species of Pinus sp., Pinus cf. cembra, Larix/Picea, Juniperus a Vaccicium, i.e. cold- and drought-tolerant taxa, were identified by anthracological analysis of soils of Zemechy loess ravine. The identified species suggest that the landscape around Zemechy was probably formed by parkland taiga. According to 13 C NMR spectroscopy, soil organic matter of fossil chernozem of Zemechy loess ravine consists particularly of alkyl and O-alkyl carbon. Aromatic carbon is also significant. O-alkyl carbon is the most important in the recent chernozems of Tursko and Syrovice. Aromatic carbon has the smallest proportion in both chernozems. The presence of aromatic carbon in chernozem of Tursko is the smallest of all analyzed soils. The...

This thesis researches forest history and human impact on it in prehistory and early Middle Ages by means of soil charcoal analysis, i.e. pedoanthracology. It focuses on a site called "Roztocký háj" with long-term human settlement near Roztoky u Prahy in central Bohemia. Pedoanthracology brings information about past woody vegetation that is very local and without much anthropogenic influence. On the other hand, archeoanthracology focuses on charcoal originating from archeological excavations directly from human settlements. These charcoals are therefore formed by human behaviour and provide general view on woody vegetation in wider surroundings of the site. Comparing results of these two approaches in Roztoky is allowed by long-term archeological excavations. They provided previously analyzed and partially published charcoal dataset. Newly obtained pedoanthracological dataset brings finer spatial scale, allows to find out the effect of local conditions on the charcoal spectra and also allows identification of possible purposefully selected taxa in the archeoanthracological assemblage. Another part of this work describes present-day vegetation around the soil profiles and examines it's possible continuity with the past vegetation. 4 soil profiles provided quite species-rich (17 taxa) charcoal...