Thelephora mushrooms are important mycorrhizal partners of woody plants. An international team led by Jan Borovička of the Institute of Geology investigated trace element concentrations in their fruit bodies. In Thelephora penicillata, extremely high concentrations of toxic elements were found, especially cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As). Among other analysed species, surprising results were obtained for T. palmata with elevated contents of sulphur and T. vialis with extremely high concentrations of selenium.

A paper by scientists of the Department of Environmental Geology and Geochemistry was published in the prestigious journal Environmental Pollution. The study of tree rings in European Larch determined the evolution of mercury (Hg) emissions from a local source. Larch is a living recorder of Hg concentrations in the air. In this case, the emission source was the oldest chemical plant in the German town of Marktredwitz, which was producing Hg-based fungicides. Its environs were contaminated during the centennial operation of the plant. Mercury then started to spread to the Czech Republic through streams, inducing contamination of sediments in the Skalka Reservoir in the Cheb area. The record in larch rings suggests that the highest Hg emissions occurred in the first decades of the 20th century, when the plant was the World's key producer. The present Hg concentrations in the air are very low due to the extensive remediation of the whole plant area.

The oldest geological society in the world – The Geological Society of London – has recently published a book "Lamprophyres, Lamproites and Related Rocks: Tracers to Supercontinent Cycles and Metallogenesis". The book deals with igneous rocks which originated at great depths in the Earth's mantle and provide unique potential for the study of geological processes involved in the formation and break-up of geological supercontinents such as Colombia, Rodinia and Gondwana–Pangea. The main editor of the book is Assoc. Prof. Lukáš Krmíček, Ph.D.

A paper describing the terrestrial plant Tichavekia grandis was published in the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology journal. It is co-authored by two members of the Institute of Geology, Monika Uhlířová and Jiří Bek. The plant lived in the Barrandian area (Czech Republic) some 420 million years ago. It was named after František Tichávek of the West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň, who had found the described specimen.