65. Sedlecké skály (Sedlec Rocks) Natural Monument (PP)

A rock parade on the left-hand Vltava bank north of the Sedlec railway station, west of the Prague-Kralupy railway line. Cadastre: Sedlec, Suchdol - Prague 6. Area: 7.4764 ha. Elevation: 190-260 m above sea level. Established by the Ordinance of Prague Municipality No. 4/1982 of May 27, 1982.

Significant rock, thermophilous rocky steppe and shrub communities with the occurrence of protected and endangered species.

Proterozoic shales of the Kralupy-Zbraslav group, covered with loamy scree in ravines, with loamy sands and loesses in the plateau margins. Ranker and protoranker on the rocks, black earth on loesses, ranker with medium nutritive brown soils on the screes.

The proterozoic shale ridges alternating with ravines host the characteristic rock community of mountain alison (Aurinia montanum) and pale fescue (Festuca pallens). The ravines host thermophilous shrubs (hawthorn, dog rose, cornelian cherry, shrub cherry, barberry, whitebeam) and thermophilous borders with the burning bush, the bloody cranesbill and the swallow-wort. The tops of continuously wind- and water-eroded ridges host the community of Festuca pallens, Scleanthus perennis and Achillea setacea. In connection with the adjacent Tursko plateau, in the lee of prevailing winds, loess drifts originated in the upper margin of the rocks, covered with a community of fescue (Festuca valesiaca) and feather grasses (Stipa capillata, Stipa pulcherrima, Stipa Joannis), conserved in minor framents only.

Important refuge of thermophilous invertebrate species. The butterlies are represented by the swallowtail and the scarce swallowtail, the red admiral, the small tortoiseshell and the comma butterfly, the ground beetles by Harpalus rufipalpis and Canagaeus bipustulatus, the metallic wood-borers (Buprestidae) by Cylindromorphus bohemicus whichis an endemite in Bohemia and Trachys problematicus, described by Prof. Obenberger in the very Prague. The phytophagous beetles of steppe type include Coptocephala rubicunda from the leaf beetles, Longitarsus celticus, Longitarsus medvedevi and Chaetocnema compressa from the Phyllotreta family, Cassida pannonica, five species of the Trachyphlpeus family as well as Cycloderes pilosus, Ceutorhynchus rhenanus and Ceutorhynchus lukesi from the snout beetles. The sand lizard is found on sunny spots and the smooth snake in the lower parts of the area. The vertebrate fauna is influenced by the considerably frequented highway below the rock. The undergrowth and shrubs are the nesting site of several bird species, such as the blackcap, the lesser whitethroat, the chiffchaffs, the goldfinch in the false acacia, and others.A dead hedgehog or a minor carnivore can be frequently found on the road or railway.

The woods at the northern end of the area are secondary young woods consisting primarily of various lime and pine species. The rocky steppes host oaks here and there.

The north margin of the protected area links up with the Roztocký Háj - Tiché Údolí nature reserte. At present it is buil-up with recreation cottages and covered with artificially planted vegetation and naturally growing shrubs. A small marginal part of the area is used as orchards. It is necessary to retard the growth of shrubs in the upper margin and conserve the remainders of fescue and feather grasses. No interference with steep slopes is required.

Kubíková (1988), Kubíková, Molíková (1980).

The Sedlecké Skály (Sedlec Rocks) natural monument forms a large rock parade consisting of Proterozoic shales.

Protected areas

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