The objectives of this study were (I) to establish allometric relationships between the stem volume and biomass of the stem, branches, leaves and the leaf area, and crown dimensions of individual trees, (II) to determine the relative aboveground biomass distribution, (III) to determine the vertical gradient of the specific leaf area and (IV) to estimate the aboveground stand biomass and the leaf area. Diameter at 0.3m height above ground and height of each tree were measured as the basic biometrical characteristics. The coefficient of the shape of the trunk was found by Huber's method.

The cloned saplings of Norway spruce (7 years old) were exposed to ambient UV-B irradiation or enhanced BV-B irradiation (+25 %) continuously over three growing seasons. Comprehensive analysis of CO2 assimilation and chlorophyll a fluorescence was performed at the end of the third growing season to evaluate the influence of enhanced UV-B irradiation. The analysis resulted in observations of decreased photosynthetic activity, mainly of RUBISCO activity, as a result of long-term influence of enhanced UV-B irradiation. Morever, the deep impact of enhanced UV-B irradiance on the level of electron transport and thus enhanced sensitivity to photo-inhibition was demonstrated.

Surface liming even in higher doses did not affected soil Ph and improving the content of Mg and Ca was only temporary. Spot fertilization by fine-ground amphibolite is significant particularly from the aspect of long-term affects. Short-term affects manifested themselves slightly but in the whole system of particular parameters. Application of higher amounts (3 kg.ha-1) of amphibolite has its substantiation in the future.

According to the geostatistical methods annual sums of precipitation, mean annual concentrations of SO2, total potential deposition of sulphur as inputs to the mountain forest ecosystem of Moravian-Silesian Beskids on the spatial level in 1996 were derived. For this purpose, all possible meteorological and monitoring stations in the surroundings of the cesearch teiritory were used.

The studies of grass communities, which spread in deforested areas, also involved observations of soil thermal regimes. Three sites were chosen in order to determine differences in diurnal and seasonal variations of soil temperatures: (1) open site (barren) without plant cover, (2) site covered by a young, lower and thinner stand of Avenella flexuosa, and (3) old, dense stand of Calamagrostis villosa with a layer of plant litter on the soil surface. Soil temperatures were measured at the soil surface and in the soil depth of 5 and 10 cm. In summer months, the greatest differences in maximal temperatures recorded at the soil surface and at the 5, 10 cm depth between the bare site and the old stand of C. villosa represented 21.6, 15.9, 12.4 deg C, respectively. Soil temperatures measured in the bare plot in autumn months were lower than those in grass stands.

Ammonium and nitrate concentrations in soil were determined in the initial stage of grass stand formation and in old closed grass stands (Avenella flexuosa, Calamagrostis villosa). Higher concentrations of both ammonium and nitrate ions were found in the 0-10 cm soil layer in comparison with the deeper soil layer of 10-20 cm. The amounts of NO3-N and water-soluble NH4+N generally represented only a small part of total mineral nitrogen in samples just removed. Presented data indicate seasonal fluctuations in ammonium and nitrate concentrations in soil.