Provider: Grantová agentura České republiky
Coordinating recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Another participant in the project: Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze
Keywords: forest ecosytem, acidification, surface waters, soil, sulphur, nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, dynamic modelling, biogeochemistry, climate change
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
During the 1900’s acid deposition caused severe forest dieback in the mountains of Central Europe. Soils have been depleted of nutrient cations. International agreements have resulted in substantial decline in sulfur (S) deposition since the mid-1980’s, and intensive forestry has been resumed. But nitrogen (N) deposition continues. Forestry practices, acid deposition and expected climate change threaten the health and vitality of the forested landscape in the future. This project will make use of long-term data records (since 1992) from three intensivelystudied forest catchments. New data on pools and fluxes of key elements in soils, biomass, forest floor biodiversity and water will be collected over a 2-year period at these sites. Together the data will be used as input to the hydrological model BROOK90 to simulate stream discharge and to the biogeochemical model MAGIC to simulate soil and streamwater chemistry. The models will be run forward to the year 2100 under combined scenarios of acid deposition, forest management practice and climate change.

Provider: Ministerstvo zemědělství
Coordinating recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: crop g rowt h m odel s, f ood secu ri t y , cl i m at e ch an g e, wi n t er wh eat , spri n g barl ey , wi n t er oi l seed rape, y i el d st abi l i t y , cl i m at e v ari abi l i t y
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
Th e m ai n g oal of t h e proj ect i s t o dev el op an d appl y i n n ov at i v e m et h odol og y t h at wi l l m ake possi bl e t o u se crop m odel en sem bl es i n order t o assess produ ct i on pot en t i al of t h e m ai n crops i n presen t an d ex pect ed cl i m at e con di t i on s. In t h e sam e t i m e t h e proj ect wi l l al l ow f or u n preceden t ed v al i dat i on of t h e crop m odel s wi t h i n t h e Cz ech Repu bl i c. Proj ect am bi t i on i s t o address t h e i ssu e n ot on l y i n t h e Cz ech Repu bl i c bu t t h rou g h cooperat i on wi t h i n JPI FACCE pi l ot proj ect u se Eu ropean dat abase of ex peri m en t al dat a an d m et h odol og i es t o i m prov e ou t pu t s of t h e Cz ech u sers. Th e deci si on m akers wi l l ben ef i t f rom t h e i n f orm at i on f or f orm i n g n at i on al an d reg i on al st rat eg i es t h at wi l l be obt ai n ed i n Eu ropean con t ex t . Th e proj ect wi l l f or each of t h e sel ect ed crops (wi n t er wh eat , spri n g barl ey an d oi l seed rape) prepare en sem bl e of at l east 5 (assu m ed n u m ber i s 8) crop m odel s t h at wi l l be v al i dat ed u si n g bot h ex peri m en t al dat a an d reg i on al st at i st i cs. Th i s crop m odel en sem bl es wi l l be t h en u sed t o assess t h e produ ct i on pot en t i al u n der presen t an d ex pect ed cl i m at i c con di t i on s. Th e i m pact assessm en t wi l l be accom pan i ed by adapt at i on opt i on an al y si s an d i t s pot en t i al ben ef i t s f or prov i di n g f ood secu ri t y wi t h i n t h e Cz ech Repu bl i c.

Provider: Technologická agentura ČR
Recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Another participant in the project: NESS Czech s. r. o.
Another participant in the project: Mycroft Mind, a.s.
Another participant in the project: Masarykova univerzita
Keywords: meteorology; energy sector; solar power plants; wind farms; electricity consumption;numerical weather prediction; numerical weather prediction models; deterministic and ensemble forecasting
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
1) to design, develop and finalize modular system based on numerical weather prediction models capable of producing specialized high precision/ high reliability forecasts of energy production/consumption related quantities. More reliable prediction will be achieved through verification of several prediction models against measured meteorological elements such as air temperature, air pressure, wind etc., when only the best predictors, choosen from the weather prediction models or their ensemble members (for EPS), are applied. 1) to design effective and flexible technological infrastructure sustaining advanced prediction systems for energy sector

Provider: 7. rámcový program
Another participant in the project: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: Structural change in the Academia; gender equality in research institutions; gender training; work/life conciliation; gender perspective in research; responsible research an innovation.
Annotation of project:
EGERA brings together eight research and higher education institutions in seven EU member states (Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) + Turkey, bound by a same commitment to the dual objective of achieving gender equality in research, and strengthening the gender dimension in research. Made up of five universities covering an ample array of disciplines, from social sciences to STEM, a research centre on climate change belonging to the Czech Academy of Science, an independent evaluation structure specialized in the design and monitoring of gender equality plans, EGERA is coordinated by Sciences Po, a leading institution in social sciences in Europe. With view to bring about sustainable and measurable cultural and organizational changes to promote gender equality, EGERA has secured the full support of the top management structures of its respective partner institutions. Fully-fledged Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs) will be implemented and continuously enhanced along this four-yearlong project by the seven implementing partners. GEAPs will articulate a structural understanding of gender inequalities and bias in research with a set of actions covering the most salient issues with respect to the recruitment, retention, appraisal and empowerment of women in research, and to the mainstreaming of gender knowledge across disciplinary fields. Drawing upon innovative methods, of which some have been experimented and evaluated under previous/on-going FP7 projects, our cumulative and inclusive approach will notably support the operationalization of structural changes with both an intensive and extensive use of gender training, as an instrument for effective gender mainstreaming strategies. Mobilizing considerable gender expertise and relying upon multi-level women in science policy networks, EGERA will also put efforts into the dissemination of its outputs and achievements across the European Research Area.

Provider: Ministerstvo školství mládeže a tělovýchovy
Coordinating recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: Spruce mountain forests, environmental change, ecosystem status indicators, ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, vegetation zone shift, ecosystem management
Annotation of project:
.The aim of the project is to find suitable indicators to assess the impact of environmental change on natural mountain spruce ecosystems in the Giant Mountains and in the top positions of the Moravian-Silesian Beskid Mountains, using the concept of DPSIR and on this basis to propose the suitable forestry and administrative measures to increase their resilience.

Provider: Ministerstvo školství mládeže a tělovýchovy
Coordinating recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: regional climate model, validation, bias-correction, climate variable, quality control, homogenization, gridding, downscaling, climate change projection
Annotation of project:
The project aims at the own validation and bias correction of regional climate model (RCM) simulations, its comparison with coarser COST VALUE results, and also at localization of the model outputs into positions of meteorological stations together with comparison and statistical evaluation of differences between these two approaches. All the relevant RCMs outputs available for the Czech Republic will be processed. For the validation, measures suggested by the COST VALUE including return levels will be adopted to make the comparison straightforward. Added value of the project lays in the use of the higher density of station data than in the COST VALUE (applying data available on European level, e.g., ECA&D or the E-OBS datasets) thus enabling to address potential problems coming from the coarser resolution use. The implementation of state-of-art de-biasing and validation techniques will produce high resolution outputs for the Czech Republic in a form that will suit impact studies demands.

Provider: Ministerstvo školství mládeže a tělovýchovy
Coordinating recipient: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Another participant in the project: Mendelova univerzita v Brně
Keywords: Wastes, vitiviniculture, vinification, canes, stems, grape marc, analysis, extraction, resveratrol, derivatives, polyphenolic compounds.
Annotation of project:
The aim of the project is to create a science-based process for representative sampling, sample preparation and processing of waste materials from viticultural practice and vinification (canes, stems, marc), analysis of samples of selected biomass of canes as well as selected biomass of stems and grape marc on the content of resveratrol, its dimers and oligomers , other polyphenols and lignans. In the frame of the project the sample preparation procedures, extraction and analysis with emphasis on the use of modern instrumental techniques (GC-MS, LC-MS, NMR) and the isolation of pure compounds by chromatographic methods will be optimized. In addition to the described trans-resveratrol and trans-ε-viniferin other substances present in the biomass of canes, stems and marc will be also identified.

Provider: Grantová agentura České republiky
Coordinating recipient: Biologické centrum AV ČR, v. v. i.
Another participant in the project: Univerzita Karlova v Praze
Another participant in the project: Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
Another participant in the project: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: biodiversity patterns, altitudinal and latitudinal gradients, food webs, community phylogeny, alpha, beta and gamma diversity, macroecology, ants, butterflies, birds, plants
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
The Center for Tropical Biology is devoted to integrating of tropical ecological and evolutionary research in the Czech Republic. Tropical research represents one of the flagships of Czech science, yet it has been fragmented to several institutions and teams even as these groups studied similar questions concerning spatial and temporal variation in biological diversity. The project will allow coordinated study of diversity gradients replicated across principal biogeographic areas of the world, with the aim to reveal processes generating and maintaining biological diversity. Diversity gradients will be studied using complementary approaches from multiple disciplines, including macroecology, phylogenetics, community ecology, phylogeography and ecophysiology. This coordinated effort will generate new synergies in research and student training for the four participating teams. The methodologically multi-layered approach is also necessary to reveal the causes of major biodiversity patterns on earth and thus for understanding the future of our continually changing inter-connected world.

Provider: Grantová agentura České republiky
Coordinating recipient: Výzkumný ústav rostlinné výroby, v.v.i.
Another participant in the project: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: ladybird beetles, Coccinellidae, Harmonia axyridis, invasion, community, census, sampling, cereals, wild herbs, trees, spatial niche, temporal niche, flight, polymorphism
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
Invasive species may endanger native species in the invaded area. Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), an aphidophagous ladybird originating from East Asia and now spreading worldwide, is an example. It is necessary to make a proper assessment of the impact of this species on the native coccinellid communities and predict future trends in their numbers. For this, sufficiently long population censuses of coccinellids before and after the beginning of H. axyridis invasion (2008) are necessary. The project will prolong our sampling data (started 2002) by another 3 years, which will make them long enough for the task mentioned above. Comparable data do and will not exist in the world. Additional experiments and simulations will deliver supporting data for determination of the relative importance of selected factors determining the effect of H. axyridis on long term trends of abundance of particular native species (differences in temporal and spatial niches, dispersal capacities, adaptive polymorphism, similarity of communities in the origin to those in the invaded area).

Provider: Grantová agentura České republiky
Coordinating recipient: IFER - Ústav pro výzkum lesních ekosystémů, s.r.o.
Another participant in the project: Český hydrometeorologický ústav
Another participant in the project: Botanický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i.
Another participant in the project: Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
Another participant in the project: Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, v. v. i.
Keywords: changing environment, tree growth, forest stand production, N-deposition, dendrochronology, isotopes
Detail of project in RVVI: RVVI
Annotation of project:
This project addresses the issue of changing growth environment on production and vitality of trees grown in the conditions of Czech forests and open landscape. The project builds on woody biomass and forest soil data collected in the pilot statistical landscape inventory in the country (2008-2009) and proposes a repeated inventory of trees grown in forest and open landscape. Repeated tree biomass inventory, complemented with dendrochronology and isotopic analysis (d13C, d18O), will provide quantitative data on current and recent changes in tree growth, production and vitality indices and water use efficiency. These data will be analyzed using in-depth correlative approaches and modeling to discern the contribution of key environmental and site variables (N-deposition, climate, stand and soil characteristics). The project will bring a wealth of quantitative information on tree responses to changing environment and improve our understanding on actual contribution of individual factors in elevation gradient and conditions of the Czech landscape and practical forestry.