THE NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK OF SKALICKÁ MORÁVKA

The Skalická Morávka Natural Landmark represents a natural and slightly engineered section of the Morávka River as a typically wild river with many offshoots in the region of the West Carpathian hill country below the Beskydy. The reason for protecting it are the unique geomorphologic channels in the river course that leave behind layers of gravel and reshape its tributaries (the last remaining wild natural current of gravel deposits in the Czech Republic), creating eco-systems linked to them with rare and endangered plant and animal life. It is one of the last locations with the critically threatened species of tamaricaceae. The territory also includes minor wooded areas, meadows and underbrush and the remnants of vegetation that grew intensively in the small limestone quarries. The territory of the national park represents the natural development and preservation of a biotope with scores of protected and threatened species of plant life, the most important types being ash-alder meadows, West Carpathian oak-hornbeam forests and gravel beds with Tamaricaceae.

The Skalická Morávka National Natural Landmark is located on territory that has been listed by the CR as the important European location Niva Morávka covering 367.36 ha and including the Morávka Profile Natural Landmark.

The untouched gravel-bearing flow of the Morávka River, its irregular profile uncovering pre-quaternary subsoil, has created rocky thresholds and cataracts. The river channel and tributaries are recessed up to the outcrop of rocky subsoil and form fluvial gravel accumulations of cone-shaped sediment. Flooding during the 1990s led to intensive flow through the channel in the protected zone and increased the area of rocky outcrop. The forest lining the river is not bottomland forest in the proper sense of the word, because the river current is recessed 3-7 meters against the bank. Species of various ages and types have been preserved there. Interesting is the population of grey alder trees, which descend with the current from higher vegetated degrees, and the today disappearing elm. In the river itself lives, in addition to ordinary types of fish like trout, the threatened minnow.

This wetland biotope is located on the southeastern edge of a forest in a meadow along the Morávka River. The marsh consists of woodland and non-woodland portions and lines the slope of the river bank. Flowing water can be found there, evident by the whirling quagmire found at the bottom of the creek that creates several deeper pools of practically standing water. The location is botanically and zoologically important for the presence of endangered species. Here we can find marsh calla, western marsh-orchid and common bogbean. The pools and their surroundings provide an excellent home for the brown jumper frog and the severely threatened mountain newt. River otters have been sighted several times in the reservation.

THE KAMENEC NATURAL MONUMENT

This wetland biotope in a meadow along the Morávka River consists of pools and a pond along with peat bog. The central portion of the area is dominated by marshy woodland growth with sticky alder trees and sturdy ash. The pond and its immediate surroundings contain rare and threatened types of vegetation: the common arrowhead, branched bur-reed, European bur-reed, and floating pondweed. On the sandbank we can find the common spikerush and tall cottongrass. The territory is one of only a few refuges for waterborne insects and vertebrates in the district of Frýdek-Místek. Research conducted up to today has identified 26 types of dragonflies and 193 types of beetles. In the pools can be found sanctuaries for various types of endangered amphibians, like the really threatened large newt.

This area consists of old and diverse growth predominated by oak and is one of the best preserved remainders of oak vegetation in the region below the Beskydy.

The cragged spaces contain a fresh and rich assortment of beech wood, linden trees, and wet beech wood of the Fagion type. The composition of species is very colorful.