Our "field laboratory" in the Cep II sand pit was designed in the autumn of 2012 thanks to a cooperation of the mining company, scientists and the Administration of the PLA Třeboňsko. Since 2013, we have regularly monitored the development of vegetation in plots with different slopes, or landscaping, and in forestry reclaimed plots. In collaboration with entomologists, selected groups of insects have also been monitored. However, the attention of our group is currently shifting to projects related to the effect of grazing of large herbivores on vegetation, and urban ecology (especially flowering strips). Therefore, after six years of intensive monitoring, last year and this year the vegetation sampling took place only in plots that were originally designed as shallow or periodically flooded, but due to drop of water table in the mining lake, they became dry shortly after construction. We will continue to monitor the development of vegetation in our "field laboratory", from now on in longer intervals though.
