This project is focused on the Late Cretaceous flora from the Klikov Formation of the South Bohemian Basins, representing one of the best-preserved Cretaceous floras in Europe. However, detailed palaeoecological and taxonomic comparisons with other Cretaceous floras were earlier hampered by the currently only vaguely defined stratigraphic age of the formation and the still fragmentary knowledge of the flora's taxonomic composition. Therefore, stratigraphy, plant diversity, and ecology are the major focus of this project. The Klikov formation has recently been exposed in several localities due to an ongoing highway construction in the region. This has allowed us to collect plenty of new material including plant mega-, meso-, and microfossils. We are comparting this new material with earlier described fossils aiming at the description of new taxa, taxonomic revisions, and palaeoecological interpretations, thereby allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the Klikov Formation. To achieve these goals, we are using modern palaeoecological, palaeobotanical, palynological, and phylogenetic methods.

The multidisciplinary research is carried out by an international team of researchers with highly complementary expertise. The main collaborators are Jiří Kvaček (National Museum, Prague; main expertise: geology, palaeobotany, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology); Jiřina Dašková (Czech Academy of Sciences; main expertise: palynology).

Additional collaborators

University of Vienna

• Maria von Balthazar
• Friðgeir Grímsson
• Xieting Wu

National Museum Prague

• Zuzana Heřmanová
• Petra Zahajská
• Jana Čepičková
• Anatolii Muraviev
• Petr Mazouch

Czech Academy of Sciences

• Marcela Svobodová
• Veronika Veselá

Australian Institute of Botanical Science

• Hervé Sauquet