Biocentres and corridors in a cultural landscape. A critical assessment of the ‘territorial system of ecological stability’

The concept of ‘Territorial Systems of Ecological Stability’ (TSES) was developed in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1980s. The methodology involves designing TSESs as systems of biocentres and biotic migration corridors hierarchically arranged within biogeographical units. This article describes the experience gained while applying the methodology in the Czech Republic. Particular attention is given to the importance for TSES of the category of ‘natural vegetation’ and to functions of corridors with regard to their shape and the possibilities of their establishment in the central European cultural landscape. Implications for corridor design from the Landscape Ecology literature are reviewed.