In a unique project, the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture (VÚKOZ) monitors the climate of the main ridge of Hrubé Jeseník using smart weather stations.
The obtained data approximate the effects of climate change on local nature. The measurement results are also available to the public online and can be used by tourists to find out the current weather on the Jeseníky ridges.
Meteorological stations are installed at three locations on the main ridge of Hrubé Jeseník in locations between the peaks of Pecný and Vysoká hole.
“Their height difference offers ideal conditions for measuring and evaluating the data obtained. Together with other data, these will be used to model the microclimate of the entire mountain ridge,” explained Jakub Houška from the VÚKOZ landscape ecology department.
“In this area, large areas of subalpine grasslands have already died three times in recent years. Global climate change and probably the situation where extreme heat waves come after a long drought,” he indicated.
Grazing and mowing
Other reasons, according to experts, include a change in the behavior of overpopulated ungulates and a long pause in the traditional management of meadows using grazing and mowing.
Smart weather stationThe data is accessible, and before climbing the peaks, everyone can evaluate their strengths and possibilities in view of the weather, which prevails there more HERE. |
“They took place here continuously from at least the 16th century until the end of World War II. We are currently testing these methods in better-preserved stands and on experimental areas that we have established in several places along the ridge,” indicated Vít Slezák, head of the Jeseníky Nature Reserve Administration from the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency.
“The data obtained by the measurements will help us not only to reveal the exact reasons for these deaths and other changes in the alpine landscape, but also to create a retrospective and predictive model of development that will facilitate finding suitable countermeasures that will help mitigate the effects of global climate change and prioritize nature protection,” he added Bun.
Scientists and conservationists alike
Experts will collect data until February 2028. The Agency for Nature and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic, which takes care of the area, will then work with the results and recommendations.
“But of course they will also be useful for other scientists and researchers investigating the effects of global climate change in areas with similar mountain relief and microclimatic conditions,” said Houška.
Students of the Institute of Geography of Masaryk University in Brno participated in the installation of weather stations as part of a field exercise, and students of doctoral programs will also work with the resulting data.
“Smart weather stations were supplied to the project by the Czech startup Agdata Smart, which specializes in hyperlocal measurement of microclimate and air quality using its own smart sensors,” Houška described.
“Meteorological stations measure meteorological conditions on the ridges of Hrubé Jeseník, such as wind speed, gust and direction, temperature, pressure, air humidity and, of course, precipitation. Their advantage in hard-to-reach terrain is that they are practically maintenance-free and it is enough to replace the battery once every four years,” explained Jiří Jirásko, technical director of Agdata Smart.
“Measured data is sent in real time and updated every ten minutes,” explained Jirásko.
In cooperation with the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency, VÚKOZ together with Agdata decided to provide the public with the current meteorological conditions.
“Specifically, it is a measurement from the Velký Máj peak, which is located on the northern part of the Czech Trail and at the same time on the popular tourist section of the route between Jelení studánka and Petrový kameny,” said Jirásko.
“Measurement results and the state of the weather in Velký Máj are available via a QR code, which interested parties can find on our website or in our information center of the Jeseníky Nature Reserve in Karlov Studánek,” described Vít Slezák, head of the Jeseníky Nature Reserve Administration from the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency.
“There, tourists can immediately find out what the current weather is like up there, and evaluate for themselves whether to go to this location at all or to reconsider the ascent if the weather worsens,” added the conservationist.
2024-07-14 04:13:00