Dr. Margita Kuklová and Dr. Ján Kukla, scientists from the Department of Soil and Plant Ecology of the Institute of the Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Zvolen, participated in a tour to the Alps organized by the Slovak Botanical Society. Its aim was to help in learning more about flora of the Hohe Tauern area. Mgr. Mário Duchoň as tour guide accompanied the whole group. 9 people, the Society members, participated in. 

A visit to probably the most beautiful spot in the Dolomites, the Val di Funes valley, hiking to the Brogleshütte under the Seceda peak (2 519 m a.s.l.) while at the same time exploring a rich local calcicol flora were an impressive start of the botanical tour. No less admirably everyone perceived a scenery dominated by well-known three peaks called Tre Cime with the heighest peak 2 999 m a.s.l. A possibility for study of a calcicol flora encountered in the surroudings of the Tre Cime was much appreciated as well. During the walk around the Kölnbreinspeicher dam located at the end of the Maltatal valley, it was a chance to study a silicicol flora. The valley is enclosed by the Carinthian mountain range with peaks over 3 000 m a.s.l. The view on the 3 360 m Hochalmspitze, the highest peak of the Ankogel range, was lovely. 

Althought the botanical tour to the Alps was of a short duration, new knowledge gained there will contribute to a better understanding of the processes, determining distribution and diversity of subalpine and alpine plant taxons as well as their communities. Please see a brief tour schedule: A meeting point was in the city of Bratislava on the 31st of July 2019, then followed an overnight transfer to the town of Brunico in Italy. Upon completion of the rich tour programme, the journey ended in Bratislava on the 4th of August.