Polanský les, Nature reserve in Polanka nad Odrou, Czech Republic.

Polansky les is a nature reserve along the Odra River that combines riparian forests with open meadows and ponds in natural river bends. The mix of habitats creates areas for diverse plant and animal life to thrive throughout the valley.

The area received official protection status in 1970 to safeguard the river's natural systems and species. This decision reflected growing awareness of how important riparian areas are for maintaining healthy ecosystems.

The forest is a hard-wood floodplain wood (tvrdý luh) dominated by ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), with sycamore, Norway maple, small- and large-leaved lime and hornbeam. Its undergrowth is known for snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), a relict population in the Poodří region, alongside martagon lily and purple helleborine.

Access is limited to marked paths only; leaving them is not permitted. The forest stands are left to develop on their own without forestry management, and dead wood stays on the ground for wood-decaying insects and fungi. Non-native trees such as black locust are being gradually removed.

Nine bat species have been recorded here, including the tree-dwelling Leisler's bat and Daubenton's bat, which hunts low over water. The reserve also shelters the collared flycatcher and the middle spotted woodpecker, and dead wood is deliberately left in place for wood-decaying beetles and fungi.