The land is located in the west of Bohemia, 5 kilometers from the town of Kadaň and close to the village of Úhošt’any. The whole area belongs to the Doupov Mountains massif. Several hills rise up in the immediate vicinity: Dubový vrch (691 m), Kobyla (619 m), and Lipová (543 m).

A very important “neighbor” of our location is the Hradiště Military Area, an enclosed zone for army training, the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. It forms the entire western border of our site.

If you go to the eastern border of the site, in just a short while you will reach the road that used to be lined on both sides by the houses of Zvoníčkov. In its heyday, the village had over 100 inhabitants, its own chapel, and a pub. However, it never recovered from the expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War and was abandoned in the 1960s. Today, the remains of some of Zvoníčkov’s buildings are visible only in a few places.

Properties

The Doupov Mountains were formed tens of millions of years ago by volcanic activity. They are made up of various types of basalt, which peeks out here and there in the form of dark hills and outcroppings.

This undulating, sometimes steep and rocky landscape is in direct contrast to the post-industrial wasteland of gradually declining coal mines with the visible massive cooling towers of the thermal power plants in Prunéřov and Tušimice.

Landscape of Contrasts

The combination of basalt bedrock, a climate with long-term low rainfall, and the fact that the area around the vanished village of Zvoníčkov has avoided intensive agriculture has given rise to a unique mosaic of habitats. Among the rarest of these are grassy hillsides and steppes, which host one of the most important populations of the critically endangered Eastern pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens).

While these parts of the site have retained a respectable species diversity, much of the area suffers from a lack of management, or at least the kind that the local landscape was accustomed to. This absence is reflected in the gradual overgrowth of scrubs and scrubby trees. These are gradually being incorporated into a coherent vegetation spread under which valuable steppe and meadow habitats are rapidly disappearing.

The most important element of the area is the dry and thermophilic grassland, i.e. steppe biotopes, which everywhere have more or less been supplemented by shrub vegetation. It’s on these grasslands with rocky slopes and drifts where the Eastern pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens) thrives.

Significance

Orchids are also abundant, especially the Early purple orchid (Orchus mascula), which grows in our site in the higher hundreds. Again, at least locally, this is one of the most important populations in the country. Both the rarer subspecies of this plant (critically endangered), and a larger number of individuals with the characteristics of the Early purple orchid, are found here in grassland and woodland habitats.

Another impressive species of rarer plants that grow on the site is the burning bush (Dictamnus albus). Rising up to one meter in height, this slow-growing perennial is typical of the light woodland edges and steppe habitats that abound on the site.

This tenacious herb with “hairy” buds and striking purple-pink flowers is critically endangered in our country. Stronger populations are found in only three areas in the Czech Republic, with the population around Zvoníčkov being by far the largest.

Water biotopes are found only in a small portion of the Bison Slopes area and are directly connected to the Úhošťanský Brook, which originates here and flows into the Ohře River after leaving the site.

Its water channel and the alcove in the north of the area below Lipová hill are of particular importance to the site. On the left bank of Úhošťanský brook is a large pool, most likely an old pond. Fortunately, the pool, which functions as a local mecca for amphibians, has a relatively stable water level, but it’s struggling with an advanced stage of grounding and the expansion of alder trees, which are overgrowing it on all sides.

What about water?

The Úhošťanský Brook itself suffers from the fact that it was artificially dredged and straightened in the past. As a result, the water doesn’t stay on the surface and often disappears completely. The riverbed of this watercourse is intertwined with land reclamation, an underground drainage system. Its pipes have probably cracked in several places and the water has created small wetlands with vegetation that is very different from that in its surroundings.

Amphibians
Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
Northern crested newt (Triturus cristatus)
European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina)
Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)
Agile frog (Rana dalmatina)

Reptilians
Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca)
Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)
Viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara)
Slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Common European viper (Vipera berus)

Rare animal species

Moreover, the site is home to a variety of birds that are typical of forests, groves, and open areas. A total of 9 species for which the Doupov Mountains Bird Area (a protected area within the European Natura 2000 system) has been established nest here or fly in to find food, including the black stork, the western marsh harrier, the Eurasian eagle-owl, and the European honey buzzard. In addition, the common raven, the red kite, the black kite, and the common crane can also be spotted at Zvoníčkov.

What will happen on Bison Slopes?

We want to establish the Zvoníčkov Reserve. Its mission will be to stop the negative development of the overgrowth and degradation of thermophilic habitats (steppes) on the whole area of approximately 130 hectares and to start a long-term management method that will create and maintain conditions for diverse and valuable species of plants and animals.

Our vision

We won’t be on our own, however. Refugium has established a cooperation with the Česká krajina NGO, which has extensive experience in the grazing of large ungulates. The flagship of this non-profit is the Milovice Nature Reserve, located in a former military area northeast of Prague.

In this reserve, which covers more than 300 hectares in two separate areas, ecologists from Česká krajina have managed to transform a long-neglected, species-monotonous landscape into a thriving mosaic full of life, with the help of prairies, wild horses, and bison. European bison and wild horses (Exmoor ponies) should also help with the management of the Zvoníčkov Reserve.

Within a few years of the introduction of grazing, the landscape of the Bison Slopes will gradually change, bit by bit, for the better. Where the overgrowth of shrubs and encroachments, i.e. mainly hawthorns, roses, field maples, or blackthorns, has gone too far, we are planning the targeted cutting and removal of the material.

Bison
slopes

This will take place under the supervision of the experienced ecologists Jaromír Maštera (the Mokřady z.s. NGO) and Pavel Pokorný (the Říční krajina associaton), who will take care of the removal of the underground drainage network in the vicinity of the stream and at the same time the restoration of the watercourse itself, which is now artificially deepened and strained.

An important aspect of our efforts is to access and retain water in the only “wet” part of the site. This will not only restore or create a wetland habitat, but also provide a stable water source for grazers.

More detailed information about the upcoming project of “Bison Slopes – Zvoníčkov Reserve” is coming soon.

Similarly, the creation of the Zvoníčkov Reserve will include a project to revitalize the Úhošt’anský Brook bed and its floodplain.