Blog posts

Czech Republic

Most - Lake, Fish, algae bloom

Posted by

Samotar

We are accommodated in a beautiful retro hotel Domina near the Municipal Museum in Most and the city's main boulevard.

The view from the twelfth floor is breathtaking. Later we found out that the building of a former high-school dormitory operates also as social flats for unemployed citizens of Most.

On Tuesday afternoon we made an excursion to the new lake near Most with Mr. Ivo Přikryl. The old town of Brux/Most was swallowed by the lignite quarry Ležáky during the '70s and '80s. It disappeared on the slope of the Hněvín Hill. After all coal had been dug out, the mining company (the state-owned PKU) thought it the cheapest and most human to transform the 50-meter-deep pit into a beautiful lake.

The new lake called Most is being flooded from Ohře and it has already reached the desired water level. Mr. Přikryl presented and discussed with us results of the continuous hydro-biological measurement of the concentration of zoo-plankton and benthos since the flooding of the residual lignite mine. Changes in the quantity and quality of water, flowing from different sources, and the development of stratification in the lake water both affect the composition of zoo-plankton and benthos. Original sources of zoo-plankton inoculum, which are the reservoirs in the Lake Most own catchment area, are monitored too. Another important source that will significantly affect the formation of the newly formed lake, is the river Ohře (Eger), which contributes with the greatest volume of water. At the same time, the hydro-chemical water quality parameters and their influence on the formation of zoo-plankton and benthos communities are monitored.

Two employees of the PKU explained the current situation, how the landscape surrounding the lake and next future outlooks when the lake will be handed over its new owner, the City of Most, and used for sport and recreation.

We asked the head of the group of hydro-biologists from the Academy of Science's subdivision in České Budějovice to take us for a short ride on their exploration boat. They did.

Links

PKU

Related

Ivo Přikryl
Remediation of the environmental (and social) disturbances caused by open cast brown coal mining in the past in northwest Bohemia is a priority for state environmental policy. In order to provide a concept for the full restoration of land following disturbances caused by open cast mining, a special interdisciplinary project supported by a grant from the Czech Ministry of Environment was started in 2000. The initial stage of the project was intended to summarize and evaluate the findings and the works carried out in connection with various reclamation activities in the afflicted area over a period of more than 50 years. The main aims of the three-year project are to make use of the best available landscape environmental management knowledge in order to harmonize the ecological, aesthetic, productive and social functions of new valuable landscape, including the recovery of historical continuity and an understanding of “landscape memory”. The basic landscape functions were assessed on two different scales. On a large scale, the relevant attributes were investigated over the whole area of the Sokolov brown coal basin (220 km2). The data and experience acquired were used to define large-scale guiding principles for the rehabilitation of a post-mining landscape. On a small scale, the basic characteristics and functions of the landscape were analysed in the Litov-Chlum model area (2 km2). The information derived from this analysis was used to formulate a small-scale approach for the rehabilitation of the model area and also to define general methodological principles. Ivo Přikryl, RNDr. (b. 1952) is a hydrobiologist working at ENKI o.p.s. Třeboň. His research focuses on zooplankton in lakes, dams and ponds mostly in Central Europe. He is currently studying the possibilities for the protection of wetlands , marshes, the management of dams and the recultivation of the landscape after periods of open cast mining, especially in the Ore Mountains. …

Old and New Lakes of Mostecko: A Lecture by hydrobiologist Ivo Přikryl
A remediation of environmental (and social) disturbances caused by extensive open cast brown coal mining in northwest Bohemia is a priority for the Czech environmental policy. In order to provide a conceptual basis for the full restoration of land following such disturbances, a special interdisciplinary project supported by a grant from the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic was started in 2000. The initial stage of the project was intended to summarize and evaluate findings and works carried out in connection with various reclamation activities in the afflicted area over a period of more than 50 years. The main aims of the three-year project are to make use of the best available knowledge in landscape environmental management, so as to harmonize the ecological, aesthetic, productive and social functions of a valuable new landscape, including the recovery of historical continuity and an understanding of “landscape memory”. The basic landscape functions were assessed at two different levels of scale. On the large scale, the relevant attributes were investigated over the whole area of the Sokolov brown coal basin (220 km2). The data and experience acquired were used to define large scale guiding principles for the rehabilitation of a post-mining landscape. On the small scale, the basic characteristics and functions of the landscape were analysed in the Litov-Chlum model area (2 km2). The information derived from this analysis was used to formulate a small-scale approach for the rehabilitation of the model area and also to define general methodological principles. The lecture will be held in Czech and is for free. To participate in the event please send a short application (stating your name and the title of the lecture) via e-mail to info@frontiers-of-solitude.org. The applicants will receive further specification regarding the meeting point and time. Duration cca 2 hours Max. 15 participants For more information please contact Dagmar Šubrtová: dasas@email.cz …

Media

Gallery

Blog posts

Posts