Devin thermophilous woods - Czechia

Děvín is a considerable site of forest and non-forest ecosystems of the warmest part of the Czech Republic. Due to heterogeneous geomorphology, it comprises a range of habitat conditions and vegetation types. Forests cover about 3/4 of the area and they are formed mainly by oak-hornbeam wood, thermophilous oak wood, and ravine wood. The forests of Děvín were strictly managed as a coppice in the past. The oldest records are available from the late 14th century. The cutting period was as short as 7 years in the Middle Age and then gradually increased to 15–25 years during the 17th–19th centuries. A reason of the coppice management was the need of firewood. This probably led to a dominance of the large-leaved lime (Tilia ...