Poodří Protected Landscape Area is a protected landscape area in the Moravian-Silesian Region that protects the floodplain of the Oder between Jeseník nad Odrou and Ostrava.
.jpg)
Poodří Protected Landscape Area is a protected landscape area in the Moravian-Silesian Region, in the north-eastern part of the Moravian Gate, between the municipality of Jeseník nad Odrou in the south and Ostrava in the north[1]. The core of the area is the flat floodplain of the Oder; elevation ranges from 212 m above sea level on the Oder near the Rezavka nature reserve to 310 m on the road between Šenov and Bernartice nad Odrou below Salaš hill[1].
History and designation
The area was declared on 1 May 1991[1]. On 1 March 2017 it was declared anew, together with an enlargement of its territory[1]. According to the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Poodří is the second smallest and at the same time one of the youngest protected landscape areas in Czechia[1].
Landscape and nature
Poodří is one of the few lowland protected landscape areas in the country, with extensive meadows and scattered greenery, and, by contrast, a small share of forest[1]. The axis of the territory is the Oder, which keeps its natural character along most of its course and meanders freely through the landscape[1]. The area contains almost 70 fishponds, supplemented by mill races, cut-off river arms and hundreds of pools and small wetlands[1]. This combination creates a mosaic of habitats that the agency describes as a "harmonious picture of the Oder floodplain"[1]. The preserved water regime allows the river to spill naturally into the surrounding landscape, briefly flooding meadows and forests and giving them the moisture they need[1]. Pools that dry out become, once flooded, places for amphibians and fairy shrimps to breed[1]. According to the protected landscape area's administration, the link between the river and the surrounding landscape is the most valuable feature of Poodří[1]. The landscape of Poodří has borne traces of farming since time immemorial and is not wild, untouched nature[1]. The agency describes it as the result of a long-standing harmony between human husbandry and nature, and of the Oder, which is still unconstrained[1].
Protection of the area
The protected landscape area contains ten small-scale specially protected areas: one national nature reserve, eight nature reserves and one natural monument[1]. Within the Natura 2000 network, two sites of European importance and one bird area are designated here[1]. According to the agency, Poodří is of national importance for the naturally meandering course of the Oder with its adjoining oxbow lakes and pools, a high share of meadows with scattered greenery, floodplain forests and fishpond systems[2]. The area differs from the other Czech protected landscape areas in having no mountain ridges, rock towns or caves[2]. The Oder valley serves as an important bird migration route, and water birds use the local ponds for nesting and resting[2]. In 1993 Poodří was added to the wetlands protected by the Ramsar Convention[2].
Emblem of the area
The emblem of Poodří Protected Landscape Area shows a marsh harrier, a bird of prey typical of the reed beds of the Poodří pond landscape[2]. The emblem symbolises a bird circling above the meadows and the meandering Oder[2]. Until 2009 the emblem showed a flower of the yellow water lily instead of the marsh harrier[2].
Visiting the area
The Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic runs an information centre in Bartošovice, which provides information on natural attractions, tourist destinations and events in Poodří and its surroundings, according to the website of the area's administration[2].