Český les
Typical landscape in Český les
Location of Český les in the Czech Republic
LocationPlzeň Region, Czech Republic
Length65 km (40 mi)
Width10 km (6.2 mi)
Area473 km2 (183 sq mi)
Established2005
OperatorČeský les PLA Administration

Český les Protected Landscape Area (abbreviated as Český les PLA; Czech: Chráněná krajinná oblast Český les, abbreviated as CHKO Český les) is a protected landscape area in the Czech Republic. It lies in the western part of the Plzeň Region along the border with the German state of Bavaria. It protects the most valuable parts of the Upper Palatinate Forest (Czech: Český les) mountain range.

Český les PLA was declared in 2005 as the 25th protected landscape area of the Czech Republic. Most of the area was vacated after the forced expulsion of the predominantly German inhabitants after the World War II. Until the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 it was part of the Western border zone, virtually uninhabited. Due to this development it is today an area little affected by human activities, a mosaic of deep forests, meadows and forests. There are many valuable well-preserved habitats of the beech and mixed fir-beech forests (though replaced by spruce plantations in a large part of the original area), bog spruce forests and bog Mountain Pine forests. Geologically the area is not much varied, with the nutrient deficient rocks of the so-called Moldanubicum pluton of Paleozoic to Proterozoic origin (granites, gneiss, schists, slates). Český les PLA covers an area of 473 km2 (183 sq mi).

There are no permanent settlements in the area, rather a few restored hamlets and many of the meadows and pastures are now used for cattle raising. The protected area is divided in two parts separated by the D5 highway connecting the Czech Republic and Germany. The zone close to the highway was not included in the protected area.

Small-scale protected areas

As of February 2007 there were following nature reserves and other small-scale protected areas within the Český les PLA:

Name Type Area Reason for protection
Broumovská bučina Nature reserve 26.17 ha 64.7 acres herb-rich beech forest
Bučina u Žďáru Nature reserve 6.77 ha 16.7 acres acidophilous montane beech forest
Bystřice Nature reserve 43.61 ha 107.8 acres mixed montane forest
Čerchovské hvozdy National nature reserve 326.93 ha 807.9 acres primal mixed beech forest
Diana Nature reserve 20.41 ha 50.4 acres primeval herb-rich forest
Dlouhý vrch Nature reserve 21.00 ha 52 acres montane sycamore-beech forest
Farské bažiny Nature reserve 66.00 ha 163 acres bog spruce forest
Hvožďanská louka Nature monument 6.70 ha 16.6 acres managed meadow
Jezírka u Rozvadova Nature reserve 6.23 ha 15.4 acres peat bog
Křížový kámen Nature reserve 19.23 ha 47.5 acres raised bog forest with peat lakes
Louka u Staré Huti Nature monument 2.07 ha 5.1 acres managed bog meadow
Malý Zvon Nature reserve 8.00 ha 20 acres autochthonous beech forest
Milov Nature monument 0.74 ha 1.8 acres sloped spring peat bog
Na požárech National nature monument 78.60 ha 194.2 acres transitional bog (originally declared for grouse protection)
Nad Hutí Nature reserve 14.04 ha 34.7 acres autochthonous beech forest
Ostrůvek Nature reserve 5.51 ha 13.6 acres raised bog forest
Pavlova Huť Nature reserve 35.82 ha 88.5 acres bog spruce forest
Pleš Nature reserve 27.69 ha 68.4 acres ravine sycamore and sloped beech forest
Podkovák Nature reserve 5.63 ha 13.9 acres raised bog forest
Skalky na Sádku Nature monument 3.89 ha 9.6 acres spruce-beach forest
Starý Hirštejn Nature reserve 37.15 ha 91.8 acres autochthonous mixed forest
Tišina Nature reserve 10.35 ha 25.6 acres acidophilous montane beech forest
Tři Znaky Nature reserve 289.86 ha 716.3 acres declaration pending
Veský mlýn Nature monument 32.04 ha 79.2 acres transitional bog

Resources

  • "Český les PLA". Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  • Chytrý, Milan (2001). Katalog biotopů české republiky (in Czech). Prague: Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic. ISBN 80-86064-55-7.
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