Třeboňsko
Žofinka National Nature Reserve
Žofinka NNR is a transition peatbog in the forested complex which lies 2 km west of the village of Dvory nad Lužnicí. The reserve covers part of a larger peat deposit (462 ha) and is an example of the final phase of natural peatbog development with extensive bog pine stands, including the Labrador tea in the undergrowth at a relatively low elevation above sea level. The basement is formed by white-grey kaolinite sandstones and conglomerates, clayey sandstones and siltstones, clays of various colours and claystones of upper Cretaceous age of 100 – 200 metres in thickness and representing the upper part of the “Klikov formation” (Campanian-Turonian). An extensive Holocene deposit of oligotrophic peat overlies this basement. The peatbog itself lies in an oval-shaped, bowl-like depression in the Cretaceous sediments which formed as this area subsided in relation to the surrounding areas. Directly under the peat we can find intercalated layers of various coloured clays, sandy clays, clayey sands and sands with the dozens of centimetres in thickness. The peatbog slopes to the north and north-west and the thickness of the peat layer varies greatly (in the central part of the area it reaches a maximum of 4 m). In the past, peat was extracted here and a network of drainage channels in various stages of land-filling can be found in and around the peatbog. Notable flora representatives include the bog whortleberry and cranberry, while the fauna is represented by the black stork (Ciconia nigra).
