Jaromír Kolejka

When, where and whom: assessing wildlife attacks on people in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Wildlife attacks on people in and around protected areas have become one of the main challenges for wildlife management authorities. We assessed all correlates of wildlife attacks during 2003–2013 in the vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. We used data from various sources (discussion with stakeholders, field observations, questionnaire surveys). Wildlife attacks were significantly correlated to factors such as site, season and time, activity, gender and awareness. Moreover, 89% of recorded attacks occurred outside the Park. The number of attacks fluctuated widely and patterns of attacks were significantly uneven across seasons and months. Of the 87% of attacks that occurred during the day, 87% occurred in the morning. Most victims were male and c. 45% of attacks occurred when people were collecting forest resources or working on croplands. Attacks were carried out predominantly by rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis (38%), tigers Panthera tigris (21%), sloth bears Melursus ursinus (18%), elephants Elephas maximus (9%) and wild boar Sus scrofa (8%). The people attacked lived close to the Park, depended on farming for their livelihoods, and had little knowledge of animal behaviour. Attacks can be mitigated through proper management of habitats inside the Park and raising awareness of wildlife behaviour among local people. We recommend establishing a participatory emergency rescue team to deal with problematic animals in high-risk areas.

SUSTAINABLE LAND USE CONVERGENCE IN BORDER AREA IN CENTRAL EUROPE

The digital landscape model consisting of natural landscape map, DEM and three historical land use maps (1829-40, 1935-38, 2002) has been applied to identify general and local tendencies in the land use development under different natural conditions in the mountainous area on the Czech-German border. Regardless to different starting points, and economic and social causes driving the land use changes, the natural background plays the decisive role in the final detail allocation of human activities in the study territory and supports the convergence of land use pattern in the present time. Mountain regions represent areas with well developed vertical zoning of geoms. The vertical ordering is typical for classes of present landscapes reflecting natural conditions. Differences between the ways of the landscape utilising in the same natural mountain environments can be caused by different economic and social features of regions. If natural, economic and social parameters of regions are similar, also the landscape utilising has to be similar regardless of their geographic location. Such similarity has to govern the landscape view of both areas as well. Due to different human conditions, diverse and impact printing ethnographically based cultural landscapes have developed. The running globalisation raised and equalises economic and social differences between regions of the world at certain scale. Such development touches mountain regions imminently. Results of this process can consequently manage a theoretical convergence of structures and view of presently different cultural landscapes in nearby future. The loss of identity of typical cultural landscapes is a real threat of mountain regions of Altai, Alps, Ands, Carpathians or other mountains in the world. The protection of mountain regions has to include the preservation of typical landscape views at least there

Geocomputation and Spatial Modelling for Geographical Drought Risk Assessment: A Case Study of the Hustopeče Area, Czech Republic

The phenomenon of drought is serious in many landscapes with continental patterns of climate. In fact, drought risk is usually assessed in terms of prevailing issue (meteorological, hydrological, agronomical, etc.) and not in terms of complex landscape features. A procedure for detailed geographical drought risk modelling has been developed using recent meteorological data of dry period and prior precipitations, as well as a digital elevation model and geographic data layers of natural landscape features and land cover. The current version of the procedure starts with meteorological data (temperature and precipitation) processing followed by the use of soil and geological data and land cover, the national CORINE LC 2006 CZ database, for assessing the impact of the local natural features on drought risk. The methodology is based on GIS tools, geodata of the geological structure of the area (water holding capacity of the substrate, the horizontal and vertical water conductivity), soil cover (in agricultural and forested areas, soil types and kinds), landscape cover (land use), relief (digital elevation model and its derivatives), temperature and precipitation data from neighbouring representative meteorological and climate stations. The procedure uses regression equation for temperature and precipitation risk modelling, fuzzy standardization for estimation of different water retention within land cover categories and expert estimation for risk categories within rocks and soils. The final calculation is based on spatial decision-making techniques, especially the weighted sum method with a natural breaks reclassification algorithm. Combining geodata of soils, the geological environment and the active surface with their computed humidity conditions, it is possible to identify areas with a graded risk of geographic drought. The final results do not represent partial values, but identify five risk classes in the study area illustrating a possible level of geographical drought risk.

Thematic survey of subsurface drainage systems in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT This paper demonstrates advantages of remote sensing (RS) technologies and methods for mapping subsurface drainage systems (DS) in the landscape. It describes a method of DS identification that is based on acquisition of multispectral data from several sources at various times in order to determine the relevant conditions and criteria for visualization of DS features in these images. Analysis of RS data is used to create thematic geodatabases and map layers of the DS, locations of their damage, or local soil waterlogging, providing up-to-date and precise digital records of the condition and location of DS in land parcels. This information is presented as map outputs for seven test localities in the Czech Republic with areas of 10–80 km2. Sample maps are processed in greater detail and at a larger scale to better illustrate the features.

Comparative Research of Visual Interpretation of Aerial Images and Topographic Maps for Unskilled Users: Searching for Objects Important for Decision-Making in Crisis Situations

The article presents the results of research focused on the speed and success rate of reading aerial images and topographic maps showing the same territory in the Czech Republic. Attention was focused on searching for objects of importance in terms of disaster management (railway and road bridges, road, watercourse, railway station, airport). The success rate was electronically evaluated by the Hypothesis software as a whole for the image, and the map was created for all respondents and for selected groups of respondents. The results showed that, with the exception of watercourse identification, other strategic objects are found faster and more reliably on color aerial images. No differences in speed and success of interpretation were found between men and women, laymen and experts. Soldiers and crisis management personnel were faster than laymen, but they were equally successful. Color aerial images or color aerial orthophotomaps have thus proved to be a key source of data for effective decision-making on a territory where a crisis event is taking place and where the deployment of a crisis unit is a need.

Injury Severity of Wildlife Attacks on Humans in the Vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Most of the studies conducted about wildlife attacks on humans so far have disproportionately focused on fatal attacks, but further exploration is needed to understand other injury severities (minor, serious, death). This paper focuses on assessment of the extent of injury caused by wildlife attacks on humans in the vicinity of the Chitwan National Park (CNP) of Nepal for a period between 2003 and 2013. In the vicinity of this park, people suffer from the attacks by various wild animals such as rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), tiger (Panthera tigris), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), elephant (Elephas maximus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). We used data collected from group discussion (n=33), key stakeholder interview (n=36), field observation, and household questionnaire survey (n=329). Our results showed that wildlife attacks were significantly correlated to site environment, season, victims’ gender, age, awareness, and activities. The injury severity significantly correlated to attacking animal species (p<0.0001). Fatal cases occurred on 1-people in-3, and rest suffered with minor to severe injuries. On an average, 30 attacks occurred annually. Most fatalities were caused by elephant attacks (68%) followed by tiger (57%), rhino (29%), bear (4%), and by wild boar attacks (4%). Most fatalities (84%) occurred at incident sites, where some victims had to loss their lives due to delay in rescue. The victims were found facing substantially harsh physical, psychological, and economical problems. Patterns of the attacks were significantly uneven across months (p<0.001). Uneducated persons, fishermen, and collectors of forest resources received more fatal attacks than others. We suggest for creation of awareness among local people about species-specific behaviour of attacking animals. The medical trauma centre should be established in the vicinity of the CNP and existing local medical centres should be upgraded for immediate treatment of the victims.

Identification and typology of Czech post-industrial landscapes on national level using GIS and publicly accessed geodatabases

Abstract The post-industrial landscape (PIL) is a generally accepted phenomenon of the present world. Its features are fossil in comparison to those ones in operating industrial landscapes. The required knowledge about the position, size, shape and type of PIL will help decision makers plan PIL future. The paper deals with the selection of identification features of PILs. Applicable data must be related to four landscape structures: natural, economic (land use), social (human) and spiritual. Present Czech geodatabases contain sufficient quantity and quality of data they can be interpreted as source of PIL identification criteria. GIS technology was applied for such data collection, geometric and format pre-processing, thematic reclassification and final processing. Using selected identification and classification criteria, 105 PILs were identified on the Territory of Czech Republic and classified into individual types. A SWOT analysis of results was carried out to identify the reliability level of data and the data processing. The identified PILs represent the primary results generally obtained in the Czech Republic. GIS approach allows repeated procedures elsewhere in EU member states because of some similarity of available geodatabases. Of course, an improvement of classification procedure depends on the real situation in each country.

Technical report: The development and experience with UAV research applications in former Czechoslovakia (1960s-1990s)

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in a number of fields of human activity represents the second wave of interest in the development and application of automated flying remotely controlled machines to collect aerial data. The former Czechoslovakia was one of the world’s leading countries in the 1960s–1990s in terms of an unprecedented boom of development and applications of flying machines for imaging the Earth’s surface. The reasons for their use were the same as today. Since the mid-1960s, radio-controlled (RC) models of aircraft carrying various types of photographic cameras have been developed. In spite of many administrative constraints, kite helicopters, fixed-wing aircrafts, and rogallo-wing aircrafts gradually began to be used in research. The photographic cameras for 1, 2, 4, and 6 bands carried by RC-aircraft models were developed in cooperation with leading Czech companies. These cameras used colour and black-and-white films, positive and negative films, and panchromatic, spectrozonal, and multispectral films. The general methodology and the RC-aircraft model application rules were both developed. The dominant processing method was the visual image interpretation, with and without the assistance of instruments. Optical and digital image mixers were used in Czechoslovakia, so it was possible to use natural and unnatural colour composites to highlight the studied phenomenon. A number of examples of the techniques and the scientific applications are presented in the article.

Delineation of post-industrial landscapes of the Upper Silesian corridor in the Basin of Ostrava

Abstract The post-industrial landscapes represent a legacy of the industrial revolution. There have been gradually formed numerous enterprises of various industry branches on the territory between Czech-Polish border in the North and Moravian-Silesian Beskydes Mts. (a part of Carpathians) in the South (the western border follows the foothills of Hercynian Bohemian Highlands). In the given study, there are demonstrated examples of the post-industrial landscape in the concerned area of Ostrava, which is a part of the so called Upper Silesian industrial corridor that is intensively linking industrialized region of Upper Silesia in Poland and the Czech Republic with other developed regions of Europe to southwest through the Moravian Gate to the Danube region. This paper demonstrates the procedure for defining the post-industrial landscapes in general, their classification and standardization using the available data sources and GIS technology. For the processing the data of the deployment of brownfields, contaminated sites, industrial constructions of architectural heritage, mining points and areas, human made landforms, industrial and landfill sites etc. were used. They document the genesis, the territorial shape and the geographic position of the post-industrial landscape in the study region. In the concerned area of Ostrava four “rural” post-industrial landscapes were identified and classified into three different genetic types. This paper also presents a methodology for identifying, mapping and classification of post-industrial landscapes on the basis of publicly available and state-managed databases.

Czechia and Slovakia

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the geomorphological hazards in Czechia and Slovakia. The geomorphological hazards represent extreme events that occur as a response of the dynamic systems of the Earth to both internal and external changes. These changes are often brought about or accelerated by human activities and are exemplified in the area of the former Czechoslovak state. Areas in both Czechia and Slovakia, however especially the latter, are threatened by a wide array of potential hazards, including seismic disturbances, mass movements, floods, soil erosion by wind and by runoff, and subsidence. Seismic shocks, varying in intensity and frequency, affect Slovakia, and to a lesser extent, the Czechia. Czechoslovakia is the area in Central Europe most under threat from eolian hazards. Most Czechoslovak rivers suffer from floods most often in the snow-melt period. Deforestation and destruction of the vegetative cover brought about accelerated runoff, followed by erosion and floods is also observed.