Sites of Botanical Interest in Moravia
Nature Reserve Milovická stráň near Milovice
Vladimír Antonín and Jiří Danihelka
Fig. 1. Nature Reserve Milovická stráň, Milovice Hills: The steep west-facing slopes are
covered with dry grasslands of the alliance Festucion valesiacae. Along the plateau
margin above, a narrow strip of thermophilous oak forest (Corno-Quercetum) is developed.
Photo J. Danihelka, 2001.
|
|
|---|
Fig 2. Adonis vernalis is one of the most characteric species of the Milovická stráň
Nature Reserve. Its population comprises at least several hundreds of individuals.
Photo J. Danihelka, 2001.
|
|
|---|
This nature reserve, established in 1994, is situated on the plateau and west-facing slope of Špičák Hill (293.3 m)
in the northeastern part of the Milovická pahorkatina Hills south of the village of Milovice and about 6 km
northeast of the town of Mikulov. The area is part of the Protected Landscape Area Pálava.
The climate is similar to that of the Pavlov Hills, while the bedrock is very different, as there are no outcrops of hard rock
there. The area is made up of Tertiary flysch deposits with prevailing sandstone layers cemented by lime which are
covered with Quaternary loess on the plateau. Holocene deluvial and fluvial sediments are present only in narrow
valleys.
The steep west-facing slopes are covered with dry grasslands of the alliance Festucion valesiacae. In the lower
part of the slope, they are replaced by stands of the alliance Bromion erecti, whereas along the plateau margin
herbaceous forest fringe communities with Dictamnus albus of the alliance Geranion sanguinei are
developed at some places. Large patches of dry grasslands dominated by Stipa pulcherrima, also assigned
to the Festucion valesiacae, are found in several forest openings.
Along the plateau margin, a narrow strip of thermophilous oak forest (Corno-Quercetum) is developed with
Quercus pubescens, Cornus mas, and Ligustrum vulgare in the tree and shrub layers, and Aster
amellus, Brachypodium pinnatum, Carex humilis, C. michelii, Dactylis polygama,
Dictamnus albus, Inula hirta, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Stachys recta, Viola hirta,
and Teucrium chamaedrys in the undergrowth. The prevailing vegetation type on the plateau is Pannonian
thermophilous oak forest on loess (Quercetum pubescenti-roboris; Aceri tatarici-Quercion). The main trees,
forming a moderately closed canopy, are Quercus petraea and Q. pubescens, accompanied by Ligustrum
vulgare and Acer campestre in the shrub layer. The herb layer include Melica uniflora, Convallaria
majalis, Poa nemoralis, and Brachypodium pinnatum. Some mesophilous species are present as well,
such as Asarum europaeum, Campanula rapunculoides, Dactylis polygama, Galium odoratum,
G. sylvaticum, Polygonatum multiflorum, and Pulmonaria officinalis. Third woodland type is Pannonian
oak-hornbeam forest of the association Primulo veris-Carpinetum (Carpinion), confined to the adjacent valleys
and to the north-facing slope.
The nature reserve is the only place in the Czech Republic where Orobanche teucrii grows, found here in 1995.
Pulsatilla grandis, a species forming several populations in the Pavlovské vrchy Hills, is replaced here by
Pulsatilla pratensis.
The whole forested area of the Milovická pahorkatina Hills used to be coppiced until the 1940s. In the late 1960s,
its major part was fenced in by the State Forest Enterprise, and two game preserves for mouflon, red deer, and fallow deer
were established. The game numbers culminated just before the fall of the Communist regime in the late 1980s and had
a disastrous effect on the forest vegetation. Even after 1989, the State Forest Enterprise Židlochovice hesitated
to reduce the game stock. In early spring 2000, for example, still 262 head of mouflon and 220 head of fallow deer were
counted in the 538 ha large Klentnice Game Preserve. The area visited, however, is well preserved because it is
situated outside the game preserve due to its former utilization by the armed forces.
On the opposite side of the valley slope, west of the road Milovice - Mikulov, a Palaeolithic site with numerous
mammoth bones was excavated in the late 1980s. In its vicinity, a prehistoric pit from the Neolithicum or Eneolithicum
was found in which numerous species of fossil molluscs were identified. The species assemblage observed supports
the hypothesis that the forests in that time comprised many mesophilous species, such us Tilia sp., Ulmus
sp. and Fraxinus excelsior, and that their malacofauna was richer in species than today.
Vascular plants recorded in the reserve
Acer campestre
Acer platanoides
Acinos arvensis
Adonis vernalis
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrostis gigantea
Achillea collina
Achillea pannonica
Ailanthus altissima
Ajuga genevensis
Alliaria petiolata
Allium flavum
Allium rotundum
Allium scorodoprasum
Alyssum alyssoides
Anemone ranunculoides
Anthericum ramosum
Arabis auriculata
Arabis glabra
Arabis hirsuta agg.
Arenaria serpyllifolia
Artemisia campestris
Artemisia pontica
Artemisia vulgaris
Asarum europaeum
Asperula tinctoria
Aster amellus
Aster linosyris
Astragalus cicer
Astragalus glycyphyllos
Astragalus onobrychis
Avenula pratensis subsp. hirtifolia
Avenula pubescens
Ballota nigra
Barbarea vulgaris
Betonica officinalis
Bothriochloa ischaemum
Brachypodium pinnatum
Brachypodium sylvaticum
Briza media
Bromus inermis
Bupleurum falcatum
Calamagrostis arundinacea
Calamagrostis epigejos
Campanula glomerata
Campanula persicifolia
Campanula rapunculoides
Campanula sibirica
Campanula trachelium
Cardamine impatiens
Carex humilis
Carex michelii
Carex montana
Carlina vulgaris subsp. intermedia
Carpinus betulus
Centaurea pannonica
Centaurea stoebe
Cerastium pumilum agg.
Chaerophyllum temulum
Chamaecytisus ratisbonensis
Chamaecytisus virescens
Clinopodium vulgare
Convallaria majalis
Conyza canadensis
Cornus mas
Cornus sanguinea
Corydalis cava
Corydalis pumila
Crataegus monogyna
Cuscuta epithymum
Cytisus procumbens
Dactylis glomerata
Dactylis polygama
Dictamnus albus
Dorycnium germanicum
Echinops sphaerocephalus
Elymus caninus
Elytrigia intermedia
Elytrigia repens
Eryngium campestre
Euonymus europaea
Euonymus verrucosa
Euphorbia cyparissias
Euphorbia epithymoides
Falcaria vulgaris
Fallopia dumetorum
Festuca rupicola
Festuca valesiaca
Ficaria bulbifera
Filipendula vulgaris
Fragaria moschata
Fragaria viridis
Fraxinus excelsior
Gagea lutea
Galium album subsp. pycnotrichum
Galium aparine
Galium glaucum
Galium odoratum
Galium sylvaticum
Galium verum
Genista tinctoria
Geranium robertanium
Geranium sanguineum
Geum urbanum
Glechoma hederacea
Helianthemum grandiflorum subsp. obscurum
Heracleum sphondylium
Hesperis sylvestris
Hieracium murorum
Hieracium sabaudum
Hylotelephium maximum
Hypericum hirsutum
Hypericum perforatum
Inula conyza
Inula ensifolia
Inula hirta
Inula oculus-christi
Inula salicina
Iris graminea
Iris pumila
Iris variegata
Isopyrum thalictroides
Jurinea mollis
Koeleria macrantha
Lactuca quercina
Lactuca serriola
Lamium maculatum
Lamium purpureum
Lathyrus niger
Lathyrus pannonicus subsp. collinus
Lathyrus vernus
Lavatera thuringiaca
Leontodon hispidus
Leonurus cadiaca
Lepidium campestre
Leucanthemum vulgare
Ligustrum vulgare
Lilium martagon
Linum tenuifolium
Lithospermum officinale
Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum
Lonicera caprifolium
Lonicera xylosteum
Loranthus europaeus
Lotus borbasii
Malus sylvestris
Medicago falcata
Melampyrum cristatum
Melampyrum pratense
Melica nutans
Melica transsilvanica
Melica uniflora
Melittis melissophyllum
Milium effusum
Moehringia trinervia
Morus alba
Muscari tenuiflorum
Nonea pulla
Omphalodes scorpioides
Ononis spinosa
Orchis militaris
Orobanche caryophyllacea
Orobanche teucrii
Orthantha lutea
Peucedanum alsaticum
Peucedanum cervaria
Phleum phleoides
Pilosella officinarum
Pimpinella saxifraga
Plantago lanceolata
Plantago media
Poa compressa
Poa nemoralis
Poa pratensis agg.
Polygala comosa
Polygonatum multiflorum
Polygonatum odoratum
Potentilla alba
Potentilla anserina
Potentilla arenaria
Potentilla heptaphylla
Primula veris
Prunus avium
Prunus spinosa
Pseudolysimachion spicatum
Pulmonaria officinalis
Pulsatilla pratensis
Pyrus pyraster
Quercus cerris
Quercus petraea
Quercus pubescens
Quercus robur
Ranunculus polyanthemos
Rhamnus catharticus
Robinia pseudacacia
Rosa canina
Rosa pimpinellifolia
Salvia nemorosa
Salvia pratensis
Scabiosa canescens
Scabiosa ochroleuca
Scorzonera austriaca
Scorzonera cana
Scorzonera hispanica
Securigera varia
Senecio jacobea
Serratula tinctoria
Seseli annuum
Seseli hippomarathrum
Seseli pallasii
Silene nutans
Silene vulgaris subsp. antelopum
Sorbus domestica
Sorbus torminalis
Stachys recta
Stipa capillata
Stipa joannis
Stipa pulcherrima
Tanacetum corymbosum
Taraxacum sp. e sect. Erythrosperma
Taraxacum sp. e sect. Ruderalia
Teucrium chamaedrys
Thalictrum minus
Thesium linophyllon
Thlaspi perfoliatum
Thymus pannonicus
Thymus praecox
Tilia cordata
Tilia platyphyllos
Torilis japonica
Tragopogon orientalis
Trifolium alpestre
Trifolium montanum
Ulmus minor
Urtica dioica
Valeriana stolonifera subsp. angustifolia (syn. V. wallrothii)
Verbascum phoeniceum
Veronica praecox
Veronica prostrata
Veronica sublobata
Veronica teucrium
Veronica vindobonensis
Viburnum lantana
Vincetoxicum hirundinaria
Viola ambigua
Viola hirta
Viola mirabilis
Viola reichenbachiana
Viola rupestris
Macromycetes
The nature reserve has been studied since the 1990s when two 2500 m2 large permanent plots
under the international project "Mycological monitoring in European oak forests" were established in the reserve
by V. Antonín and A. Vágner (Moravian Museum, Brno). About 70 macromycete taxa were recorded here in total.
Some interesting species are listed below.
Agaricus romagnesii Wasser
Gymnopus benoistii (Boud.) Antonín et Noordel.
Gymnopus hybridus (Kühner et Romagn.) Antonín et Noordel.
Hygrophorus persoonii Arnolds
Inonotus nidus-pici Pilát
Mycena polygramma f. pumila J.E. Lange
Phanerochaete calotricha (P. Karst.) J. Erikss. et Ryvarden
Oligoporus subcaesius (A. David) Ryvarden et Gilb.
Setulipes quercophilus (Pouzar) Antonín
Tomentellastrum alutaceoumbrinum (Bres.) M.J. Larsen
Trechispora lunata (Romell) Jülich
Volvariella caesiotincta P.D. Orton; a species protected by law in the Czech Republic and included in the
Red Data Book
References
Chytrý M. & Danihelka J. (1993): Long-term changes in the field layer of oak and oak-hornbeam forests under
the impact of deer and mouflon. - Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 28: 225-245.
Danihelka J. & Grulich V. (ed.) (1996): Výsledky floristického kursu v Břeclavi (1995) [Results of the Summer
School of Field Botany in Břeclav]. - Zpr. Čes. Bot. Společ. 31, suppl. 1996/1: 1-86.
[In Czech with German summary.]
Danihelka J., Grulich V., Šumberová K., Řepka R., Husák Š. & Čáp J. (1995): O rozšíření některých cévnatých
rostlin na nejjižnější Moravě [On the distribution of some vascular plants in southernmost Moravia]. -
Zpr. Čes. Bot. Společ. 30, suppl. 1995/1: 29-102. [In Czech with German summary.]
Ložek V. (1999): Změny biocenóz Milovické pahorkatiny podle výpovědi měkkýšů [Changes in biocoenoses
of the Milovická pahorkatina Hills, considerations based on fossil molluscs]. - Regiom 1998: 4-9.
Šuk V. (1956): Květena Mikulovska [Flora of the Mikulov region]. - In: Hosák L., Valoušek B. & Šuk V.,
Mikulovsko, pp. 97-139, Mikulov. [In Czech.]
Go To Introduction
Fig. 1. Nature Reserve Milovická stráň, Milovice Hills: The steep west-facing slopes are
covered with dry grasslands of the alliance Festucion valesiacae. Along the plateau
margin above, a narrow strip of thermophilous oak forest (Corno-Quercetum) is developed.
Photo J. Danihelka, 2001.
Fig 2. Adonis vernalis is one of the most characteric species of the Milovická stráň
Nature Reserve. Its population comprises at least several hundreds of individuals.
Photo J. Danihelka, 2001.