Did you know? Did you know?
From the year of 2000, 10.7 hectares of agricultural land is lost. This trend is increasing. This worsens the ability of the landscape to hold water.
From 1980-2005 the percentage of land in the Czech Republic not covered by the road/transport system has fallen from 81% to 64%. This trend is increasing.
These trends put a number of species in danger. Every year in Europe 570,000 hares, 52,000 deer, 350,000 hedgehogs, 70,000 pheasants and 50,000 horses are killed on roads.
Only about 17% of the surface of the country is covered by natural lanscapes. Three quarters of these landscapes are not in a favourable state and so are more damaged by external influences. Special landscapes that are dependant on specific conditions are endangered. On the contrary, common lanscapes that do not need specific conditions to survive are growing but this means that the natural landscape in general is losing its variety and becoming more standardised.
The Czech Republic is relatively rich in the number of lifeforms that can be found there (so far around 80,000 species are listed) One third of these species though are endangered in the Czech Republic and hundredsof species have become extinct (84 species of fungi, 27 mosses, 118 vascular plants, 627 invertibrates and 22 vertibrates). The Czech Republic is starting to lose its position as one of the European countries with the most varied nature.
Species most dependant on special conditions are dying out the fastest but even levels of previously common species are also rapidly falling (e.g. Skylark).
Indigenous species are also endangered by invading species that often push them from their natural habitats.
Source: Report – The state of the Czech landscape and nature. The printed form was issued by MŽP and the Agency for the Protection of the Czech landscape and nature