Sites of Botanical Interest in Moravia
National Nature Monument Váté písky near Hodonín
Vít Grulich and Vladimír Antonín
The largest area of eolian sands in Moravia, known as Váté písky [shifting sands], is situated in the triangle
between the towns of Hodonín, Kyjov and Bzenec. These sands originate from fluvial deposits
of the Morava River. Its catchment area includes the geologically uniform, mainly Carboniferous and
flysch-formed parts of northern and eastern Moravia, such as the Oderské vrchy Hills, the Nízký Jeseník
Mts. and the Western Carpathians. The alluvial deposits are very homogenous and fine-grained, contain more than
90% SiO2 and are very acidic. They were blown out from the terraces of the Morava River during
the Pleistocene. These sand layers are up to 30 m deep in the northeast of the area and become more shallow towards
the west and south. The prevailing soil types are cambic arenosols under forest stands, and dystric lithosols in open
places without vegetation cover. The climate of the region is dry and warm. The mean annual temperature lies
between 9.0 and 9.5 °C, whereas the mean annual rainfall lies between 550 and 600 mm.
During the Holocene, acidophilous oak forests (Festuco ovinae-Quercetum roboris; Genisto
germanicae-Quercion), probably with the autochthonous Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), developed on thick
sand layers, and Pannonian thermophilous oak forests (Carici fritschii-Quercetum roboris; Aceri
tatarici-Quercion) on thin sand layers. In depressions between sand dunes, alder carrs of the association
Carici elongatae-Alnetum (Alnion glutinosae) could develop. Near the western and northern margin
of the area, several fens came into existence, leaving thick layers of fen peat at some places. These sites possessed
natural treeless vegetation.
The forest stands of the area were severely damaged by grazing during the Middle Ages, and mobile sand dunes
developed until the 18th century at several sites. For this reason, the region was called the Moravian Sahara.
In the early 19th century afforestation efforts started with extensive planting of Scots pine. The whole area would have
been reforested if the Emperor Ferdinand's Northern Railway had not been built in the late 1830s, cutting the eastern
margin of the area between the villages of Rohatec and Moravský Písek. Along the railway, a security
strip of open sand had to be preserved to prevent forest fires. This strip, maintained almost until the end of the 20th
century, has become an important refuge of psammophilous flora and vegetation. Further smaller areas of open sand
dunes were preserved in adjacent military training grounds. Since 1990 the area has been a nature reserve and is
managed by conservation authorities. Management includes regular removing of self-sown trees, mainly Scots pine.
In open places, various succession stages can be found, from sites supporting only terophytes and initial stages
of grasslands (Corynephorion) to more developed grasslands with Festuca vaginata and Stipa
borysthenica. The flora consists of a combination of sub-Atlantic species, some of them reaching their southeastern
distribution limit here, and of Pannonian species, some of them at their northern or northwestern distribution limit.
The former group includes Armeria vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, Corynephorus canescens, and
Spergula morisonii, the latter Gypsophila paniculata, Hierochloë repens, Linaria genistifolia,
Spergula pentandra, and Stipa borysthenica. Thymus serpyllum s.str. grows here near its southern
distribution limit. The local populations of Festuca vaginata are sometimes considered a separate subspecies
dominii, endemic to the western Pannonian region.
Some species of vascular plants recorded in the reserve
Acer negundo
Agrostis vinealis
Achillea pannonica
Achillea setacea
Allium scorodoprasum
Anthemis ruthenica
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Arabidopsis thaliana
Arabis glabra
Aristolochia clematitis
Armeria vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
Arrhenatherum elatius
Artemisia campestris
Asparagus officinalis
Astragalus glycyphyllos
Atriplex patula
Berteroa incana
Betonica officinalis
Brachypodium sylvaticum
Bromus hordeaceus
Bromus sterilis
Bromus tectorum
Calamagrostis epigejos
Camelina microcarpa
Carex hirta
Carex humilis (rare)
Carex praecox
Carex supina
Carlina vulgaris
Centaurea scabiosa
Centaurea stoebe
Cerastium arvense
Cerastium glutinosum
Cerastium semidecandrum
Chelidonium majus
Chenopodium botrys
Chenopodium hybridum
Chenopodium pumilio
Chondrilla juncea
Cichorium intybus
Consolida regalis
Conyza canadensis
Corynephorus canescens
Cynodon dactylon
Cynoglossum officinale
Danthonia decumbens
Dianthus pontederae
Echium vulgare
Equisetum arvense
Equisetum ramosissimum
Eragrostis minor
Erigeron acris s.l.
Erodium cicutarium
Erophila verna
Eryngium campestre
Erysimum diffusum
Euphorbia cyparissias
Euphorbia esula
Falcaria vulgaris
Festuca brevipila
Festuca rubra
Festuca vaginata subsp. dominii
Galium aparine
Geranium robertianum
Gnaphalium sylvaticum
Gypsophila paniculata
Helichrysum arenarium
Hieracium bauhini
Hieracium echioides
Hieracium pilosella
Hieracium rothianum
Hieracium umbellatum
Hylotelephium maximum
Hypericum perforatum
Hypochoeris radicata
Impatiens parviflora
Jasione montana
Lamium purpureum
Lathyrus tuberosus
Lepidium campestre
Linaria genistifolia
Linaria vulgaris
Luzula campestris
Melampyrum pratense
Melica transsilvanica
Moehringia trinervia
Muscari comosum
Myosotis ramosissima
Myosotis stricta
Oenothera biennis
Origanum vulgare
Papaver argemone
Petrorhagia prolifera
Peucedanum oreoselinum
Pimpinella saxifraga
Pinus sylvestris
Plantago arenaria
Poa compressa
Potentilla arenaria
Potentilla reptans
Pseudolysimachion spicatum
Quercus robur
Robinia pseudacacia
Rumex acetosella
Salvia nemorosa
Saponaria officinalis
Scabiosa ochroleuca
Scleranthus annuus
Scleranthus perennis
Scleranthus polycarpos
Scrophularia nodosa
Securigera varia
Sedum sexangulare
Senecio jacobaea
Senecio viscosus
Seseli annuum
Seseli osseum
Setaria viridis
Silene nutans
Silene otites
Silene viscosa
Silene vulgaris
Spergula arvensis
Spergula morisonii
Spergula pentandra
Stellaria media
Stellaria pallida
Stipa borysthenica
Stipa capillata
Taraxacum sp. e sect. Erythrosperma
Teucrium chamaedrys
Thymus serpyllum s.str.
Tragopogon dubius
Trifolium alpestre
Trifolium arvense
Trifolium dubium
Trifolium montanum
Valeriana officinalis s.str.
Verbascum chaixii subsp. austriacum
Verbascum phoeniceum
Veronica arvensis
Veronica dillenii
Veronica verna
Vicia lathyroides
Vincetoxicum hirundinaria
Viola arvensis
Viola canina
Mycoflora
Since 1996, the NNR Váté písky has been mycologically studied by Z. Bieberová, mycologist at the Agency
for Nature and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic in Brno, and by J.W. Jongepier (Veselí nad Moravou).
Almost 90 macromycetes taxa have been recorded till now.
Remarkable species of fungi recorded in the reserve
Agrocybe semiorbicularis (Bull.) Fayod
A. subpediades (Murrill) Watling
Astraeus hygrometricus (Pers.) Morgan
Calvatia candida (Rostk.) Hollós; regularly collected here, for the first time probably by F. Šmarda (Pilát 1958)
Cinereomyces lindbladii (Berk.) Jülich
Coltricia perennis (L.) Murrill
Dichomitus squalens (P. Karst.) D.A. Reid; a very rare species, in the Czech Republic known only from four sites
Entoloma dysthaloides Noordel.
Hygrophorus aureus (Arrh.) Fr.
Inocybe dulcamara (Alb. et Schwein.) P. Kumm.
Lactarius pinicola Smotl. ex Z. Schaef.
Lycoperdon lividum Pers.
Phylloporus rhodoxanthus (Schwein.) Bres.; a rare species, now proposed for inclusion in
the Bern Convention Fungus List
Pseudomerulius aureus (Fr.) Jülich
Rhidicybe popinalis (Fr.) Singer
Rhodocybe hirneola (Fr.) P.D. Orton
Tricholoma equestre (L.) P. Kumm.
T. orirubens Quél.
T. portentosum (Fr.) Quél.
References
Grulich V. (ed.) (1989): Výsledky floristického kursu ČSBS v Uherském Hradišti 1987 [Results of the Summer School
of Field Botany of the Czechoslovak Botanical Society in Uherské Hradiště, 1987]. - Uherské Hradiště. [In Czech.]
Pilát A. (ed.) (1958): Gasteromycetes. Houby - břichatky. - In: Flora ČSR, ser. B, 1: 1-864, Praha.
Řepka R. (ed.) (1997): Příspěvek k flóře vracovsko-bzeneckých písků [Contribution to the flora of the sands
surrounding the villages of Bzenec and Vracov]. - Sborn. Přírod. Klubu Uherské Hradiště 2: 58-79.
[In Czech with English abstract.]
Go To Introduction
Fig. 1. National Nature Monument Váté písky [Shifting sands] near the village of Bzenec.
A section of the map "Velká cykloturistická mapa 1 : 75 000. Uhersko-hradištsko.
Bílé Karpaty, Chřiby" (SHOCart Zlín, 1999).
Fig. 2. Species-poor
psammophilous vegetation of the association
Thymo angustifolii-Corynephoretum canescentis along the railway
Břeclav - Přerov in the National Nature Monument Váté Písky near
the village of Bzenec. Photo M. Chytrý, 2000.