AOPK ČR
Specialised and practical management and protection of nature and landscape are the competence of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic. The Agency manages especially protected landscape areas, national nature reserves and national natural monuments. The protection of the Jizera Mountains beech forests dates back to the 1960 establishment of the State nature reserves Stržový vrch, Špičák, Poledník, Štolpichy, Frýdlantské cimbuří, Paličník and Tišina. In 1999, these were consolidated into the Jizera Mountains Beech Forests National Natural Reserve whose core territories were sensitively and purposefully integrated into a vast protection zone covering an area of 1750.4 hectares. The whole area is delimited by the municipalities of Oldřichov v Hájích, Raspenava, Hejnice, Bílý Potok and Lázně Libverda.
The uniqueness of the reserve is due not only to its size, but also to the reason for its protection. It is the largest complex of semi-natural forest with a predominance of beech trees in Bohemia; in addition, it is bound to a unique mountainous terrain with numerous outcrops of granite bedrock. The Jizera Mountains beech forests are protected under the Natura 2000 network and form part of the Jizera Mountains bird area.
The forest ecosystem remained well-preserved mainly thanks to the difficult terrain. Intensive logging was not possible here and thus the old-growth forests avoided its negative impacts. For over half a century, the forest ecosystem has been allowed to develop spontaneously and shaped by unimpeded natural processes. From seedlings, to young trees, to mature giants, to the remnants of decaying trunks, the forest encapsulates the full diversity of its developmental stages. The average age of the stand is 200 years. But it is not just trees – the overall diversity and layers are also made up of forest undergrowth, fungi, herbs and mosses.
The unique character of the landscape is shaped by the geological bedrock, which, with a few exceptions, is made up of a massive granite body. The steep slopes of the Jizera Mountains beech forests and the natural process of weathering and run-off contributed to the formation of significant rock formations, boulders, overhangs, mushroom rocks, rock spires, walls and piles. Ravines with brooks divide the precipitous slopes, resembling alpine sceneries with rapids and waterfalls. According to locals, the romantic landscape of the valley of Velký Štolpich inspired the composer Carl Maria von Weber to compose the opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman) in 1814.
The flora and fauna of the Jizera Mountain beech forests is not outstanding in terms of richness (number) of species, but above all in terms of degree of preservation. Numerous species are highly and critically endangered, because there are few suitable places (semi-natural forest) for their occurrence in the Czech Republic. Among the rare species living in the area are the following: Alpine coltsfoot, watermelon berry, martagon lily, Braun’s holly fern, European yew, stiff clubmoss. The Jizera Mountains beech forests are home to the fire salamander, black stork, European honey buzzard, boreal owl, stock dove and red-breasted flycatcher. The vastness and inaccessibility of the forests provide a suitable habitat for large carnivores such as the grey wolf and the lynx. Fourteen species of bat inhabit this area, as well as one very rare inhabitant – the critically endangered stag beetle Ceruchus chrysomelinus.
