The Czech Society for Landscape Ecology (IALE-CZ) was founded in 1999 and joined the International Association for Landscape Ecology the same year. One year after the successful international conference “Nature and Culture in Landscape Ecology: Experience for the 3rd Millenium” was held in Prague where key researchers in landscape ecology such as Z. Naveh, R. T. T. Forman and many others met. The constitution of IALE-CZ crowned the long process in 1990s when the Czech science, including landscape ecology, was reintegrated to the world structures. Nowadays, IALE-CZ has several dozens of members.
The mission of IALE-CZ (in accord with IALE mission) is to contribute to the development of landscape ecology in the Czech Republic and mediate communication between interested professionals, researchers, regional planners, decision-making sphere, and other professionals at both national and international levels. IALE-CZ participates in educational and research activities, programs, projects and organizes various professional meetings. It cooperates with governmental institutions, universities, the Academy of Sciences, as well as with professional societies and NGOs. Its members work in various fields such as landscape ecology, ecology, biology, geography, GIS, spatial planning and urbanism, etc.
Since 2008, IALE-CZ publishes the peer-reviewed scientific journal, the Journal of Landscape Ecology, focusing on current landscape ecological problems. The journal supports integration of knowledge from geo-, bio- and socio-sciences at the ecosystem and landscape level. Great emphasis is given to relationships between nature and culture including knowledge of ancient landscapes. The journal publishes papers on spatial and temporal heterogeneity especially in the context of climate change and its impacts on terrestrial environment across adequate scale hierarchy. Expertise from the spheres of land-use planning and design, habitat and landscape typology, ecosystem management, biodiversity protection and ecological restoration, and rules of ecological processes are promoted. The scope of the journal includes different landscapes and ecosystems of the world.
The Journal of Landscape Ecology has an international editorial board and is covered by many international databases, including SCOPUS. It publishes individual articles, mono-thematic issues, conference papers, articles based on theses or research reports. More information and papers in the open access format are in the journal websites: https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/jlecol/jlecol-overview.xml.
Members of IALE-CZ actively participate at IALE events, such as the IALE World Congress in Milan (2019), IALE European Congress in Gent (2017), and colaborate in IALE working groups. They also collaborate with members of other national chapters and with IALE Europe.
Annualy, IALE-CZ organizes a conference about current topics in landscape ecology. These conferences offer members an opportunity to meet and discuss the research or practical problems and questions. The annual conference is open to non IALE-CZ members and increases the impact of IALE-CZ in the scientific community. Due to the Covid-19 situation this years conference took place in April 2021 as an online event. The topic of the conference was “The vision, mission and problems of the rural landscape”.
IALE-CZ also co-organizes an annual conference about ecological networks and green infrastructure that is held since 2002 in Brno, Czech Republic. This conference is focused mainly on practitioners in spatial planning and urbanism and nature protection to discuss specific and practical issues of planning and construction of ecological networks.
Two events targeting young scientists and PhD-students are irregularly held: the Rural landscape conference and the Landscape workshop. The events allow young scientists to discuss their research with the senior researchers and among each other.
Every year, IALE-CZ announce the prize of V. J. Krajina to young scientists for excellent articles in the field of landscape ecology published in impact factor or other important journals. The prize supports the publication activity of young scientists and open doors to the active participation in conferences. V. J. Krajina was an important landscape ecologists and botanists born in Czechoslovakia who worked in Canada. The prize aims to support young scientists in they work and gaining experiences.
To sum up, IALE-CZ is an umbrella organization for landscape ecologists and other related scientists, students and practitioners in the Czech Republic. It proposes a framework to discuss conceptual issues and communicate environmental problems and their solutions. It is open to both, scientists and practitioners from the government and NGOs. IALE-CZ is a firm part of IALE International and allows its members to participate in many events.
Markéta Šantrůčková from the IALE-CZ chapter was elected a member of the IALE Executive Committee and she is IALE Vice President from 2021 to 2025. She will be responsible for IALE Working Groups and she will work in the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
On behalf of IALE-CZ board,
Markéta Šantrůčková,
President of IALE-CZ
Website of the chapter: http://www.iale.cz/