Mendel University in Brno

www.mendelu.cz

The project focuses on public information about the value of selected components of the ecosystem service of the catchment area. The results of outputs of the project comprehensibly present recreational role of nature-like revitalised river basins inside urban areas complementing their water management and ecosystem effects. The project further popularises social function of forests and forest management in open landscape. Professional results of the project will be represented by field research supported representative nationwide surveys of A) sections of rivers in urban areas and recreational city outskirts with significant synergic water management, environmental and recreational effects; and B) examples of forests with high social and landscape shaping relevance. The project addresses various target groups, including: Public administration staff, seniors, students and school children, research workers and the general public. The main outputs of the project will be professional publications, international scientific conferences, professional seminars and thematic exhibitions of photographs. In addition to their informative value the outputs will promote the Norwegian Funds, the Ministry of the Environment, Mendel University in Brno as well as the affected cities and regions. The project solution is divided into five main stages - the first stage will involve preparation and acquisition of professional materials for field research and descriptions of the model localities. At the same time necessary contracts will be executed concerning use of the donations obtained for the purpose of the project. The preparation will include training of field workers for the purpose of unified practical application of the methods for evaluation of river and forest functions. The training will be divided into two one-day courses including theoretical presentation and field practice. This stage will further include preparation of questionnaires for the purpose of measurement of the project performance indicators and sociological research. The second stage will be represented by the field research itself with description of the model sections of rives and forests of interest. In the case of rivers the description and evaluation will include elements and nature of the basin, its immediate surroundings and their classification with regard to their recreational role. In the case of forests parameters of the growth, functional reduction criteria, tree composition and forestry typology will be studied for all forest types and buildings for forest function fulfilment and their characteristics will be described. A separate part of the project will be represented by sociological research of public awareness of ecosystem functions of forests and rivers. Photographic documentation will be acquired in coordination with the other field works but as a separate task. The third stage will include processing of the accumulated data, preparation of the texts of the professional publications and DVD, and their illustration with the acquired photographic documentation, thematic maps and orthophotomaps. At the same time summary statistical evaluation of the obtained knowledge of functional value of ecosystem services of the individual model localities as well as questionnaire inquiry on the issue will be implemented. The third stage will also include post-production treatment of the photographs. The fourth project stage will involve book and DVD editing, publication and preparation of the international scientific conferences, professional seminars and exhibitions of the photographs. In the fifth stage of the project activities professional cooperation with Norwegian colleagues will be included. Mendel University in Brno has been engaged in active long-term cooperation with the Norwegian University of Life Science not only in the context of the Norwegian Funds but also in the context of the Erasmus project etc. This cooperation will be further widened and deepened in the context of the project implementation. The cooperation will include the following activities: 1) An organisational meeting in Norway, 2) A visit of the Norwegian staff in the Czech Republic with presentation of the approach to the field work in the context of the project, 3) A trip of the Czech project team to Norway connected with transfer of the technologies used 4) Participation of the Norwegian colleagues at the international scientific conferences organised in the context of the project in the Czech Republic. Professional results of the working visit in Norway will be incorporated into all media outputs. Project sustainability is assured by standard educational activities of Mendel University in Brno.

Approximately 355 622 EUR