Will the Soutok/Confluence protected area fit in with other Moravian lowland riverine protected areas? Comparing landscapes, values, pressures, and effective protection

Lowland riverine protected areas in Czechia are relatively rare and threatened by anthropogenic pressure. In the Moravian region, two protected landscape areas (PLAs), Litovelské Pomoraví and Poodří, were established in the early 1990s. In 2025, the Soutok (Confluence) PLA was designated. This article compares these three areas based on landscape characteristics (land cover, watercourse length, landscape fragmentation and connectivity, anthropogenic pressure, and priorities for protection) to evaluate how Soutok compares to the established two. The analysis includes a 3km buffer area. A marked contrast exists between the PLAs and their buffers; while the PLAs are largely natural or semi-natural with an increasing proportion of forests (especially Litovelské Pomoraví and Soutok) or permanent grasslands, arable land and built-up areas dominate adjacent areas. This land-use intensification causes landscape fragmentation, creating a crucial limitation for landscape connectivity. Therefore, nature protection priorities are concentrated along the watercourses, which remain relatively natural in the PLAs (with a slight decrease in naturalness in Litovelské Pomoraví and Soutok, and an increase in Poodří), but channelized, regulated, and shortened in adjacent areas. Positive changes are evident within the two PLAs designated in the 1990s; Soutok shares similar traits with Litovelské Pomoraví, which may indicate a relatively positive future for this new PLA.