The Institute of Botany (www.ibot.cas.cz) is a medium sized research institute, one of the academic institutions within the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The institute is a major center of botanical research in the country. Current research focus covers a broad spectrum of botanical disciplines, most notably biosystematics of vascular plants and of fungi; comparative ecology of closely related species groups; plant invasions; succession in humanmade habitats and restoration ecology; geobotany and phytosociology, vegetation mapping; grassland dynamics and population ecology; ecology and morphology of clonal plants; ecology of mycorrhizas; wetland ecology and management; systematics, ecology and ecotoxicology of algae; palaeoecology and dendrochronology.
Institute of Botany is responsible for publishing synthetic national botanical works (Flora of the Czech Republic, distribution atlas, overview of vegetation, map of reconstructed natural vegetation) and holds or has an access to national databases (phytosociological releves, floristic records, alien species of the country, clonal plants). Institute of Botany publishes an ISI indexed journal Folia Geobotanica. Common garden and specialized laboratories with standard equipment are available (DNA, isozyme, GIS, image analysis, chemical analyses of soil and biomass). For the purpose of the project, the institute has a staff experienced in plant population ecology and community ecology, with a strong background in both classical and modern taxonomy. Currently, Institute of Botany has been involved in 3 EU projects initiated within the 5^th Framework Programme.
Previous research in plant invasions at the Institute of Botany was focussed on various aspects of biology, ecology and phytogeography of invasive species.

Studies have been conducted on
(a) general aspects of plant invasion (role of plant traits, taxonomical position, clonality),
(b) comparison of large data sets (analysis of the Czech alien flora, representation of alien species in European cities, participation of aliens in Czech nature reserves), and
(c) case studies on population ecolgy and distribution of major central-European invasive species.

The group was also concerned with succession in human-made habitats and ecology urban vegetation. Experimental approaches have been used to study establishment in various habitat types, the role of heterocarpy in plant invasions, and comparison of populations from native and adventive distribution ranges. Number of grant projects have been conducted funded from the national grant agency, and a EU 5FP project on ecology and management of Heracleum mantegazzianum (2002–2005).

RESEARCH TEAM: Petr Pyšek, Jindřich Chrtek, Milan Chytrý, Vojtěch Jarošík, Lubomír Tichý, Jan Wild, Jan Pergl, Irena Koukolíková