Velký kopec Nature Reserve: Exploring Protected Grassland Landscapes and Regional Geography

Velký kopec is best known for its unusually intact acidophilous dry grassland on a small, easily overlooked hill, where two strongly protected plant species, the large-flowered pasqueflower (Pulsatilla grandis) and the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio), each maintain populations of several hundred individuals. The site also stands out for being a textbook example of how centuries of varied human use (grazing, military training, quarrying, pine planting and even waste dumping) can accidentally create and then maintain the open, disturbed surface conditions that steppe flora and dry-grassland butterflies require. The resulting mosaic of shrub patches, scattered old trees, exposed soils, and sunlit slopes makes Velký kopec a small but ecologically dense refuge within the South Moravian landscape.

The slopes of Velký kopec have been used by people for many centuries, and the site's current ecological character is inseparable from this layered history. Until roughly the mid-twentieth century, the hill functioned as agricultural land, mainly as pasture, with smaller patches of arable field on the more fertile sections. In 1950, around two hectares on the hill were planted with Scots pine, leaving a small conifer patch that still influences the vegetation mosaic today.

Between 1957 and 1968, heifers grazed the hilltop, and from 1970 to 1985 the land was used for military training. Tracked vehicles broke up the surface during these years, exposing bare ground and creating exactly the kind of disturbed microhabitats that dry-grassland species depend on. This period is credited with allowing species such as the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio), the immortelle (Helichrysum arenarium) and Seseli glaucum to colonise or expand on the hill. Once the army withdrew, the land was effectively abandoned.

Small-scale quarrying of stone and sand took place in scattered locations around the hill. The largest quarry reached about four metres deep and filled with water; many of the old workings were later used for the disposal of municipal, construction and garden waste, creating a network of illegal dumps. Between 1989 and 1991, a water reservoir serving the Dukovany and Horní Dubňany water supply system was constructed on the hill. A transmitter was erected in 2004, and over the following two years a reclamation programme cleaned up the dumped material.

From 2007 onward, conservation management has focused on reducing woody regrowth, removing brushwood and reintroducing low-intensity grazing with sheep to maintain the open character of the grasslands. These measures complement the site's formal recognition: the Regional Authority of the South Moravian Region declared Velký kopec a nature monument (přírodní památka) with effect from 1 December 2023, formalising its protection within the Czech system and aligning its boundaries with a previously designated European site of community importance.

Velký kopec is a small hill rising modestly above the surrounding countryside of the Jevišovice hills (Jevišovická pahorkatina), part of the broader Bohemian-Moravian Highlands system in southwestern Moravia. The summit area reaches between 366 and 392 metres above sea level, and the terrain slopes gradually outward, descending over a horizontal distance of roughly 250 to 300 metres to the lowlands at its foot. This gives the site a soft, rounded profile rather than a dramatic silhouette, but its open, sun-exposed slopes are exactly what favour the dry-grassland communities for which it is protected.

Underfoot, the bedrock is metamorphic, formed from rocks of the Moravian Moldanubicum: mainly garnet-biotite granulites, with related crystalline assemblages. These rocks weather into soils dominated by modal cambisols, with localised patches of ranker and lithosol on thinner, stonier sections. The exposed and partly eroded nature of the terrain is reinforced by a network of man-made features: small abandoned quarries, sunken military tracks, sunken lanes, spoil heaps and a relict drainage channel in the eastern part of the hill, which local tradition links to a historic water channel from a well in an orchard to the cemetery of Horní Dubňany.

The visual character of the hill today is a patchwork of pale, herb-rich dry grassland, scattered shrubs, isolated old fruit trees, relict pine stands from the mid-twentieth century and exposed mineral soil around former extraction and disturbance sites. From the summit and upper slopes, the wider landscape opens out across the agricultural countryside of the Znojmo district, including the small settlement of Horní Dubňany to the southeast and the village of Dukovany nearby. The hill's modest elevation, gentle relief and open character combine to produce a landscape that reads as traditional southern Moravian countryside, but with unusually well preserved dry grassland at its heart.

Ecologically, Velký kopec is defined by its open, sun-exposed slopes of acidophilous dry grassland, set within a mosaic of shrubs, scattered trees and disturbed mineral ground. The protected habitat is a community that has become increasingly rare across central Europe as traditional low-intensity land use has declined; Velký kopec retains it in unusually intact condition. The aim of the site's conservation regime is to stabilise this biotope, curb expansion by aggressive or invasive species, and sustain viable populations of its key plants.

The botanical richness goes well beyond the two flagship species. The site records protected and threatened taxa including Stipa dasyphylla, Stipa pennata var. puberula, Stipa pulcherrima, the immortelle (Helichrysum arenarium), Silene otites, Saxifraga bulbifera and Stachys arvensis. The combination of acid substrate, thin soils, exposed south-facing slopes and a long history of disturbance has produced plant communities typical of dry steppe-like grasslands, often described in central Europe as one of the most species-rich habitat types per square metre.

The shrub layer, scattered woodland patches and relict pine plantation add structural diversity. Old solitary fruit trees and sun-exposed shrubs provide nesting sites, perches and foraging habitat for insects and birds, while the open ground between them maintains the microclimate and disturbance regime that dry-grassland specialists require. The juxtaposition of pine, broadleaf shrubs, old orchard trees and dry grassland creates a micro-mosaic that supports a high density of different ecological niches within a tiny footprint.

The dry, semi-open mosaic at Velký kopec supports a wildlife community characteristic of central European steppe-fringe habitats. Butterflies are the most conspicuous invertebrate group: notable species recorded here include the scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius), the old-world swallowtail (Papilio machaon), the chapman's blue (Polyommatus bellargus), the false ringlet (Arethusana arethusa), the marsh fritillary relatives such as Melitaea didyma, and Leptidea juvernica. Their presence reflects the abundance of flowering herbs in the grassland and the continuity of habitat structure.

Beetles tied to specific microhabitats are documented too. The jewel beetle Trachys troglodytes depends on globe-thistles and knapweeds; the cherry jewel beetle (Anthaxia candens) is associated with old sun-exposed fruit trees; and two Agrilus beetle species (Agrilus sinuatus and Agrilus hyperici) are tied respectively to rosaceous trees and to St John's-wort growing in open ground. Together, these insects underline the importance of retaining old trees and open disturbed surfaces alongside the grasslands themselves.

The bird community is shaped by the shrub-grassland mosaic. Species recorded on or around the site include the European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola), the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) and the strongly protected Eurasian golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus) in the shrubby parts; the Eurasian wryneck (Jynx torquilla) breeding in old trees; and Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), for which the wider area around Velký kopec forms part of a larger territory. While the site is too small to host a full raptor territory, its openness and abundance of prey make it a consistent foraging component of the local mosaic.

Conservation at Velký kopec centres on protecting an acidophilous dry-grassland ecosystem that supports viable populations of Pulsatilla grandis and Anacamptis morio. The site's formal protection is recent: it was declared a nature monument (přírodní památka) on 1 December 2023 by the Regional Authority of the South Moravian Region, falling within the lowest-intensity category of the IUCN system reserved for habitat or species management, reflecting its character as a Site of Species Occurrence.

The protected area is also largely coextensive with the European site of community importance of the same name, bringing the site into the Natura 2000 network and giving it recognition beyond the Czech national framework. This dual designation acknowledges the site's role as a representative example of central European dry-grassland habitat, with both national and European-level obligations attached.

Conservation management focuses on three priorities: stabilising the dry-grassland biotope, controlling invasive and expansion-prone species, and maintaining the demographic viability of the populations of both flagship plants. Practical measures already underway include the reduction of shrub encroachment, removal of brushwood, and the reintroduction of low-intensity sheep grazing, echoing the site's traditional land use as pasture.

Although Velký kopec is a small natural monument, it sits in a landscape shaped by centuries of agricultural and community use. The hill functioned as pasture and small-scale arable land until around the mid-twentieth century, was briefly planted with pine in 1950, supported heifer grazing from 1957 to 1968, and was used as a military training area between 1970 and 1985. Small quarrying for stone and sand, the construction of a local water reservoir in 1989 to 1991 for the Dukovany and Horní Dubňany water supply, and the building of a transmitter in 2004 are all part of the hill's recent history. The site also bears traces of illegal waste dumping, which was eventually addressed through a two-year reclamation project after 2004.

The site's setting between Horní Dubňany and Dukovany places it within a traditionally worked southern Moravian agricultural landscape, where dry hillside pastures like Velký kopec were once commonplace. Today, the hill is unusual for retaining that traditional landscape structure, even though the patchwork of disturbance created by modern activities such as military training ultimately benefited the very species the area is now protected for.

Velký kopec packs a remarkable amount of ecological value into a small footprint. Its dry, acidophilous grasslands host populations of both the large-flowered pasqueflower and the green-winged orchid measured in several hundred individuals each, alongside a suite of protected feather-grasses, the immortelle and other steppe-like plants.

Equally notable is the site's deliberate alignment between European-level recognition and Czech national protection: most of the hill is both a nature monument and a European site of community importance. Its active conservation programme, focused on limiting shrub encroachment, removing invasive species and restoring traditional sheep grazing, makes it a living example of how low-intensity agricultural heritage can be reconciled with habitat conservation.

Velký kopec is a small, lowland hill in a warm, dry part of southern Moravia, so its most rewarding seasons are those when its herb-rich grasslands and early-flowering plants are at their most expressive. Late spring is the optimal window for botany: the large-flowered pasqueflower (Pulsatilla grandis) typically flowers earlier in the season and the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio) reaches its peak shortly after, so a late-spring visit offers the best chance of seeing both headline species in flower at the same time.

Late spring and early summer are also when warm-weather butterflies, including swallowtails, blues and fritillaries, become active across the dry grassland and shrub edges. Summer visits offer a different, more muted character: the grasses dominate the visual landscape, the hillsides feel warm and exposed, and insect life remains active around old orchard trees and shrubs. Outside the main flowering season, the hill is still worth visiting for its landscape setting and birdlife, though specific plant spectacles will be limited.