Vegetation of the Czech Republic: diversity, ecology, history and dynamics.

This review summarizes basic information on the diversity of vegetation in the Czech Republic. It describes basic environmenal factors affecting vegetation, vegetation history since the last glacial, biomes occurring in the Czech Republic (zonal biomes of broad-leaved deciduous forest and forest-steppe, and azonal biomes of taiga and tundra), altitudinal zonation of vegetation and landscapes with an exceptionally high diversity of vegetation types (deep river valleys in the Bohemian Massif, karst areas, sandstone pseudokarst areas, solitary volcanic hills, glacial cirques, lowland riverine landscapes and serpentine areas). Vegetation types, delimited according to the monograph Vegetation of the Czech Republic, are described with emphasis on their diversity, ecology, history and dynamics.