ACIDIFICATION AND REGENERATION OF FOREST SOILS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Acidification of forest soils is a natural process, but it is amplified by anthropogenic factors. Forest soil regeneration is a very long and slow action, which is conditioned by the weathering rate and impact of forest management. Data from forest-site plots and from the national forest inventory were used to assess the development of pH/H2O in forest soils in the Czech Republic. The results of our survey suggest that not only higher positions (>700 m a.s.l.) but also middle (400-700 m a.s.l.) and lower positions (<400 m a.s.l.) were affected by significant acidification. A significant increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions was found throughout the soil profile. From the beginning of the 1990s to 2010, a very slight and gradual trend of regeneration of the soil environment was found in the forest soils of the Czech Republic. After 2010, this trend is stagnant. The increase in soil pH/H2O reached only a few tenths of a degree and was found in the A horizons as well as in the B and C horizons. The data also show that in positions above 700 m a.s.l., the trend of soil environment regeneration is significantly slower compared to lower positions.