Disertační práce Změny zátěže ekosystému v podélném profilu antropogenně ovlivněného toku Kateřina Kohušová Changes of ecosystem load in longitudinal profile of antropogenically influenced river ABSTRACT To determine anthropogenic load of the Bílina river ecosystem we monitored concentrations of selected heavy metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb, V, Zn) and specific organic substances (PAH, PCB, HCH, HCB, DDT) in three different matrices: surface water, biofilms and sediments. In the longitudinal profile of the river, four sampling profiles were determined (B1 - B4), mapping different parts of the river. The monitoring took place from 2005 to 2008. Concentrations of the substances monitored in surface water showed a decrease in load compared to the values from ten years ago. The concentrations found in surface water showed clear tendency of pollution in the longitudinal profile; the load increased downstream and profiles B3 and B4 mid- and downstream had the highest concentration. In the case of some concentrations of substances in surface water there is a trend of the majority of values being below the detection limit by the given methods of analysis. This shows a decrease of load in the river but the positive trend was invalidated by variations in maximum concentrations. Even though these variations were rare and...

In the Most Basin, there is a rich variety of plant macrofossils, whose findings are described for the first time already in the 19th century. The presented thesis is focused on conifer wood preserved as xylitic stumps in situ. The samples come from the so-called "stumpy horizont No. 31" situated in the roof of the main lignite seam in the Bílina Mine. A detailed xylotomical study with scanning electron microscopy allows their assignment to the Cupressaceae s.l., to the morphospecies Glyptostroboxylon rudolphii and Taxodioxylon gypsaceum.

Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and almost half of all insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations date back for more than 400 million years. However, investigation of their interactions stands largely at the beginning in Western Europe. Nearly 4300 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damages are available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified as so-called functional feeding-groups supply an outstanding example of the complexity, the structure and the changes of terrestrial ecosystems, are not well known during this interval. In Europe, the Neogene is characterized by palaeogeographic re- organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeo-herbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bílina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding principal factors that caused the...