Poodří Protected Landscape Area () is a protected landscape area in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It was declared on 1 May 1991.

Geography

The protected landscape area aims to preserve the harmoniously shaped landscape of the floodplain of the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

River and its tributaries, with natural processes of the riverine ecosystem, characterized by a mosaic of meadow alluvial vegetation, floodplain forest stands, a significant presence of non-forest tree species, old river arms, permanent and periodic ponds, springs on river terrace slopes, and ponds with a diverse flora and fauna. It serves as an important stopover for migratory waterbirds and has natural landscape values based on the preserved dynamics of natural river processes of meandering streams and surface flooding regimes. The protection also includes wetland communities and associated rare and specially protected plant and animal species, the distribution and urban structure of municipalities, including preserved historical settlement sites, and the protection objects of the European Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas of Poodří and Cihelna Kunín. The Poodří PLA is located in the

Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservati ...

and Ostrava-City districts of the

. The PLA stretches between

Jeseník nad Odrou Jeseník nad Odrou (until 1946 Německý Jeseník; ) is a municipality and village in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Jeseník nad Odrou consist ...

and

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

. It marginally extends into the municipal territories of the city of Ostrava and the town of Studénka. The Poodří PLA stretches along the course of the

River and includes the central part of the northeastern half of the

Moravian Gate The Moravian Gate (, , , ) is a geomorphological feature in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Upper Silesia region in Poland. It is formed by the depression between the Carpathian Mountains in the east and the Sudetes in the west. ...

. Due to its location in the valley, there are no significant differences in elevation. The lowest point of the Poodří PLA is the river bed of the Odra in the northernmost part of the PLA at above sea level, and the highest point is in the southernmost part of the PLA at above sea level.

Climate

The Poodří PLA is located in a moderately warm area. The average annual temperature ranges from approximately 7 to 8.5 °C. The average annual precipitation is around 700 mm, and the average snowfall is about 1 meter.

Nature

Flora

The Poodří PLA is home to a variety of aquatic, meadow, and forest vegetation. The areas around ponds are covered with

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

and

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

stands. Within the ponds, rare aquatic plants such as

water caltrop The water caltrop is any of three extant species of the genus ''Trapa'': ''Trapa natans'', ''Trapa bicornis'' and the endangered ''Trapa rossica''. It is also known as buffalo nut, bat nut, devil pod, ling nut, mustache nut, singhara nut or wate ...

floating fern ''Salvinia natans'' (commonly known as floating fern, floating watermoss, floating moss, or commercially, water butterfly wings) is an annual floating aquatic fern, which can appear superficially similar to moss. It is found throughout the world ...

, and water-carnivorous plants like

bladderwort ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

can be found. Endangered species like the water violet and

the yellow water-lily bloom near the blind river branches. The Poodří PLA is also characterized by periodically flooded floodplain meadows with distinct plant communities. Forests cover about 10% of the Poodří PLA area and consist mainly of trees such as common hornbeam,

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soi ...

, small-leaved lime, and ash. In the herbaceous layer of the forests, flowers such as

snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leav ...

, wood anemone,

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

, and bear garlic can be found.

Funga

The Poodří region is known for the presence of numerous rare and often thermophilic species of mushrooms. Some of the wood-decaying species include the hen of the woods (''

Grifola frondosa ''Grifola frondosa'' (also known as hen-of-the-woods, in Japanese, ram's head or sheep's head) is a polypore mushroom that grows at the base of trees, particularly old growth oaks or maples. It is native to China, Europe, and North America. It ...

''), umbellate polypore (''

Polyporus umbellatus ''Polyporus umbellatus'' is an edible species of mushroom. It is also called umbrella polypore. Description The fruit body is composed of numerous (sometimes several hundred) caps. They are across, deeply umbilicate, light brown, and form the ...

''), cauliflower fungus (''Sparassis nemecii''), Hartig's fire fungus (''Phellinus hartigii''), oak bracket ('' Inonotus dryadeus''), dryad's saddle ('' Inonotus dryophilus''), resinous polypore (''Ganoderma resinaceum''), glossy polypore (''

Ganoderma lucidum ''Ganoderma lucidum'', commonly known as the reishi, varnished conk, lacquered bracket, or ling chih, is a red-colored species of '' Ganoderma'' with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees. ...

''), ash tree bracket ('' Perenniporia fraxinea''), coral tooth fungus ('' Hericium coralloides''), lion's mane mushroom ('' Hericium erinaceus''), bearded tooth fungus ('' Hericium flagellum''), and orange-toothed crust ('' Sarcodontia crocea'').

Fauna

The ponds, the Oder River, and the pools in the Poodří area are home to many species of aquatic mollusks, including the endangered thick shelled river mussel and the thin-lined river snail. Poodří also hosts two endangered species of

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

– the

noble crayfish ''Astacus astacus'', the European crayfish, noble crayfish, or broad-fingered crayfish, is the most common species of crayfish in Europe, and a traditional food source. Like other true crayfish, ''A. astacus'' is restricted to fresh water, living ...

and the snowflake water louse. The insect fauna is rich, with many local species, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly, black hairstreak,

stag beetle Stag beetles comprise the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a c ...

, brown chafer, and bush-cricket ''Stetophyma grossum''. Endangered fish species in the Oder River include the

spined loach The spined loach (''Cobitis taenia'') is a common freshwater fish in Europe. It is sometimes known as spotted weather loach, not to be confused with the "typical" weather loaches of the genus '' Misgurnus''. This is the type species of the spiny ...

bitterling The bitterling-like cyprinids form the cyprinoid family Acheilognathidae. This subfamily contains seven genera, although the Khanka spiny bitterling is often placed in ''Acheilognathus'', and at least 75 described species to date. Over half of t ...

, and

brook lamprey The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri''), also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, ...

, while the striped rudd can be found in the pools. The Poodří PLA is home to many amphibian species, with the

great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

fire-bellied toad The fire-bellied toads are a group of six species of small frogs (most species typically no longer than ) belonging to the genus ''Bombina''. The name "fire-bellied" is derived from the brightly colored red- or yellow-and-black patterns on the ...

, and

European tree frog The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but based on molecular genetic and other data several populations formerly included in it ...

being among the most significant in terms of nature conservation. With its ponds and wetlands, the area is a popular refuge for water birds, including nesting species such as the

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

red-necked grebe The red-necked grebe (''Podiceps grisegena'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, althoug ...

red-crested pochard The red-crested pochard (''Netta rufina'') is a large diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck", and Latin ''rufina'', "golden-red" (from ''rufus'', "ruddy"). Its breeding habitat is lowland marshes and lakes in so ...

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usual ...

greylag goose The greylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser (bird), Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A lar ...

great bittern The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe and ...

, and

bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' and various iterations of ''rared ...

. Many other rare bird species can be observed in the area, although they do not nest there but spend part of the year there. Protected mammal species found in the Poodří PLA include the

European beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a species of beaver widespread across Eurasia, with a rapidly increasing population of at least 1.5 million in 2020. The Eurasian beaver was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur ...

and

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

. The PLA territory is home to 16 bat species, which represents 76% of the bat fauna in the Czech Republic. Poodří is also habitat for '' Osmoderma eremita'' (newly ''Osmoderma barnabita''), which one of the

LIFE Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

's projects led by Arnika and

University of Ostrava The University of Ostrava (Czech ''Ostravská univerzita'') is a public university in the city of Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Founded in 1991, it is the newest public university in Ostrava. It consists of six faculties a ...

aimed to protect and enlarge.

Administration and legal framework

The Poodří PLA administration is located in Studénka. The protected landscape area was declared on 1 May 1991. A new declaration was made by Government Regulation No. 51/2017 Coll. on the Poodří Protected Landscape Area, which simultaneously revoked the original declaration regulation, on 15 February 2017. Within the Poodří PLA, there are ten small-scale protected areas, managed by the administration of the PLA: *Polanská niva National Nature Reserve *Bartošovický luh Nature Reserve *Bařiny Nature Reserve *Bažantula Nature Reserve *Koryta Nature Reserve *Kotvice Nature Reserve *Polanský les Nature Reserve *Rákosina Nature Reserve *Rezavka Nature Reserve *Meandry Staré Odry Nature Monument The Pusté nivy Nature Monument was abolished in 2014. In addition, the administration of the PLA manages several small-scale protected areas outside the PLA.

References

{{reflist IUCN Category V Protected landscape areas in the Czech Republic Ramsar sites in the Czech Republic Protected areas established in 1991