In the year 1986, as the research of interstitial habitats in river ecosystems brought new and basic knowledge, was decided to organize the first Czechoslovak Symposium RIVER BOTTOM I in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The idea to organize a meeting entitled RIVER BOTTOM originates from Prof. O. STERBA (Palacký University, Olomouc) and from Prof. F. KUBÍCEK (Masaryk University, Brno). Professor STERBA has been working on problems of hyporheal since 1960, unfortunately without any possibility to publish the results in an internationally impacted journal at that time (due to the centralized communist approach).
The symposium was a very important possibility to present the results and ideas of the studies on hyporheic zone and the river continuum concept (RCC) behind the iron curtain. The symposium attended around 25 participants, coming from research institutions, universities and management. New sampling methods were demonstrated and new concepts about the river ecosystem were discussed.
In 1990, the development of investigations in the field of running waters resulted in convening the RIVER BOTTOM II to be held in Kupacovice, a small village in a vine region south of Brno, on the Jihlava River. Experts in hydrology, hydraulics and also in management of running waters took part in it. Prof. F. KUBÍCEK was the main organizer. The symposium consisted of two days of seminars, a half-day sampling excursion on the Jihlava River and three funny evenings in vine cellars. There were about 50 participants.
Proceedings from the two symposia were published in a booklet form and in the Czech language only.
Both, national and international experts participated at the RIVER BOTTOM III, held in Olomouc in 1993. With regard to the increasing importance of investigations on the river ecosystems and their restoration and better possibilities of international co-operation (after the "Velvet" revolution), it was decided to prepare the first international meeting.
A booklet in Czech with English summary, entitled "Workshop Proceedings" was available at the meeting. This Symposium lasted three days with a half-day excursion on the Morava River experimental sites in the Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Area.
The Symposium Proceedings consisted of selected and reviewed articles and was published as a monograph (G.