About Us

 

The Department of Biology of the FoS UHK consists of

• Division of Botany and Environmental Protection
• Division of Biology and Animal Ecology
• Division of Experimental Biology.

 

In its professional and pedagogical activities the Department cooperates with a number of university and scientific departments, in particular with the Faculty of Medicine of the Charles University and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Charles University in Hradec Králové, the Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague, the Faculty of Science of the Palacký University in Olomouc, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Mendel University in Brno, the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Třeboň, the Institute of Public Health in Hradec Králové, the Forest Management Institute, the National Parks and the PLAs Administrations, the Nature Conservation Agency, the natural science departments of the museums, the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique (INP/ENSAT) Toulouse, France.

Among the external collaborators belong the employees of the University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Povodí Labe, a.s., the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Charles University in Hradec Králové, the Ministry of the Environment, the Forest Management Institute are the external collaborators.

The academic staff of the Department, among others, is involved in the creation of the university textbooks, textbooks for primary and secondary schools and other learning/teaching texts.

 

Scientific Activity

• The Department of Biology of the FoS UHK consists of the Division of Botany and Environmental Protection, the Division of Biology and Ecology of Animals and the Division of Experimental Biology.
• The Department of Biology deals with GACR research and development projects focused on the dendrology and geoinformatics, applied projects of TA CR and NAZV of similar orientation, as well as with the projects specialized in the development of the testing methods in medicine and fruit growing. The department staff regularly publishes in high-quality international scientific journals, including the best ones (Q1), and under the auspices of the Department's staff, high-quality monographs and books have been published.

• In its professional and pedagogical activities the Department cooperates with a number of university and scientific departments, in particular with the Faculty of Medicine of the Charles University and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Charles University in Hradec Králové, the Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague, the Faculty of Science of the Palacký University in Olomouc, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Mendel University in Brno, the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Třeboň, the Institute of Public Health in Hradec Králové, the Forest Management Institute, the National Parks and the PLAs Administrations, the Nature Conservation Agency, the natural science departments of the museums, the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique (INP/ENSAT) Toulouse, France, CREAF at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, ​​Spain, IRTA Fruitcentre, Lleida, Spain, and many other departments.

• The employees of the University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Povodí Labe, a.s., the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Charles University in Hradec Králové, the Ministry of the Environment, the Forest Management Institute, the Research Institute of Pomology Holovousy, the Crop Research Institute in Prague-Ruzyně and many others belong to our external collaborators.
• The academic staff of the Department, among others, are involved in the creation of the university textbooks, textbooks for primary and secondary schools and other learning/teaching texts, and in the creation of professional and also popularisation books and monographs.

 

Activity of Single Divisions

Research activities of the Division of Botany and Environmental Protection are focused on partial botanical and geological disciplines and their application in practical protection of the environment and protection of nature and landscape. The research is mainly carried out in the Region of East Bohemian but some specific projects require research in areas beyond this region. The Division cooperates with foreign institutions and specialists in Slovakia and Poland.

The professional orientation of the academic staff is focused mainly on botanical surveys and surveys of geofactors in specially protected and other naturally valuable areas. Floristic and phytosociological surveys, mapping and monitoring vegetation prevail. The division also specializes in species conservation and has been involved in the rescue programme for the critically endangered Long-stalked Pondweed (Potamogeton praelongus) over a long period. Within the monitoring of the populations of specially protected plant species, attention is paid to lily-leaf lady bell (Adenophora liliifoolia), Bohemian bellflower (Campanula bohemica), etc. The applied research is focused on the study of the succession in aquatic and wetland ecosystems, in selected mountain ecosystems, in sands and other types of forest-free areas. Within the long-term cooperation with KRNAP, researches of the Krkonoše tundra and synantropic vegetation are underway. Students participate in the research in their diploma and Bachelor’s theses. The division closely cooperates with the national parks and PLAs administrations, the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other universities.

The research activities of the Division of Animal Biology and Ecology are focused mainly on the following areas: ecology of hymenoptera in anthropogenic habitats, the influence of toxic substances on pollinators and ants in fruit orchards, insects in various types of galls, food ecology, migration and echolocation of bats, population ecology of hares and birds, daily activity of daily butterflies, insects in old fruit orchards. Individual parts of the research are supported by cooperation with other universities and institutions, e.g. PřF UK in Prague, PřF JU and ENTÚ AV ČR in České Budějovice, the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové. Students and especially doctoral students of FoS UHK are also interested in some branches.

The staff of the Division of Experimental Biology focuses on the research of the influence of abiotic stressors on plant growth and development and their physiological characteristics, such as photosynthesis intensity, respiration, transpiration, pores conductivity. Furthermore, it deals with the research of the influence of physiologically active substances, especially synthetic hormones, on the above-mentioned characteristics and content of specific metabolites. The research is also being conducted on the uptake, translocation, deposition and biological activity of hazardous substances of inorganic and organic origin, including the plant use in phytoremediation technologies, biological monitoring (determination of fungi, mycotoxins and their metabolites in food and biological samples, and then in the risk management, i.e. minimizing the impact on human health). It mainly cooperates with the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Institute of Public Health in Hradec Králové, the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique (INP/ENSAT) Toulouse, France, in its research. The staff of this division is also involved in the innovation of the subjects, especially of the laboratory exercises, within the grants of FRVŠ.