Thirty Years of Growth of Woody Plants in a Biocorridor Established on Agricultural Land: Case Study From Vracov (Czech Republic)

Abstract

In the 1970s and 1980s, the concept of ecological networks was developed in the Czech Republic. The first biocorridors were established on arable land in the beginning of the 1990s. One of them was the Vracov biocorridor. This paper deals with the growth and development of trees on two permanent research plots in the period from 1993–2021. In the biocorridor, repeated inventories of woody plants and monitoring of biometrical parameters of trees and shrubs were carried out. The number of woody plants has been decreasing as the level of stand canopy has increased. Moreover, mean heights and diameters of skeleton (Quercus robur, Tilia cordata) and filling (Acer campestre, Prunus avium) trees and shrubs (Cornus sanguinea, Ligustrum ovalifolium) were compared. Under the given conditions, the growth of these tree species can be positively evaluated.