The role of trampling trails of wild ungulates in the vegetation of semi dry grasslands

Animals affect vegetation in many different ways. In this thesis we have focused on the impact of wild ungulates in the Czech Republic (wild boar, red deer, sika deer, roe deer). These animals affect vegetation with grazing, defoliation, defecation, browsing and other activities. We decided to study the effect of browsing. The animal trails are formed by browsing animals. These trails can be easily recognized due to long-term browsing. They are especially caused by trampling, which affects vegetation in many ways. The aim of this study is to determine how the vegetation of dry-grasslands (Festuco-Brometea) responds to long-term trampling caused by wild ungulates. We found that on trails, there is more bare soil, less litter and lower vegetation. In its close proximity, there is also a slightly greater diversity of plants than in control samples. Species like Plantago media which are growing straight on the trail, have adapted to trampling, while smaller shrubs (eg. Rubus, Crataegus), start to appear 2 meters from the trail. Using Ellenberg values, we found out that heliophile species, which grow on the trails and the species in control samples need more moisture and more nitrogen. Using the experiment with transplanted blocks, we learned how vegetation responds to the introduction/exclusion of..