In transformed landscapes, many populations of grassland specialist plant and animal species live outside the few protected areas and are often preserved on 'small natural features' (SNFs) such as road verges, field margins and rocky outcrops. In the steppe and forest steppe zones of Eurasia ancient burial mounds (kurgans) are widespread SNFs providing refuge for grassland species. Based on a large-scale botanical and zoological survey of 138 kurgans in Hungary, we compared the management regimes, the presence of threatening factors and the conservation potential of kurgans embedded in non-protected transformed landscapes and in protected areas. We found that kurgans extend the borders of the protected areas by maintaining populations of grassland specialist plants and arthropods (ants, orthopterans, true bugs and rove beetles) even in transformed landscapes. We revealed that the lack of proper management, the presence of anthropogenic disturbances and encroachment of woody species are the most considerable threats to the long-term maintenance of biodiversity on kurgans located outside the protected areas. For their effective conservation a new approach is needed, which can cope with the small area and dispersed localities of the kurgans and can integrate them into the network of other SNFs on a landscape-level. As the ecological importance of kurgans is disproportionate to their size conservation actions focusing on their protection offers a greater rate of return of the efforts than can be expected in case of larger continuous sites.
Eurasian steppes have an essential role in conserving biodiversity, but due to the huge habitat loss in the past centuries they are often preserved only in small refuges. Among such refuges are the ancient steppic burial mounds (the so called ‘kurgans’) which have a high cultural and historical importance and are also essential sites of nature conservation. Despite their high number (approximately half million) and conservational importance there is a huge lack of knowledge on the locality and conservational state of the kurgans in most regions of Eurasia. To fill this knowledge gap, we built a public database which allows to record and query basic information on their cultural values and factors (such as land cover type, threatening factors, cover of woody species) that might serve as a basis for their effective conservation. The database provides a transparent, public and easy-to-use source for conservation managers and landscape planners focussed on grassland conservation. In addition, it also provides background information for other associate disciplines and public agencies dealing with the protection of cultural heritage.
The Ecse-halom is a burial mound (kurgan) in the Hortobágy region of Hungary. Built in the Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age by nomadic people from the east, it now stands on the border between two modern settlements. A road of medieval origin runs along this border and cuts deeply into the body of the mound. The southern half of the mound was plowed and used as a rice field, and later a military observation tower was built on top of it. Despite this disturbance, the surface of the mound is in decent condition and provides a home for regionally significant, species-rich loess steppe vegetation. The mound comprises two construction layers as indicated by magnetic susceptibility and thin-section micro-morphological analysis. Examination of organic compounds and carbonate content at various levels showed different values, which suggest a variety of natural and anthropogenic stratigraphic layers. Mid-sized siltstone fraction is dominant in the section. The layers originate from the immediate vicinity of the mound, but have different characteristics than present-day soils. These mounds contain a valuable record of cultural and environmental conditions occurring at the time of their construction, and also serve as a refuge for ancient loess vegetation; therefore their conservation is highly recommended.
Az Alföldön nyitott szemmel járó embernek hamar feltűnnek az itt is, ott is emelkedő kisebbnagyobb halmok. Ahhoz képest azonban, hogy mennyire feltűnő, meghatározó jelenségei a síksági tájnak és milyen nagy számban fordulnak elő még ma is, meglehetősen keveset tudunk róluk. A legtöbb halom az intenzív szántóföldi művelés miatt mára komoly veszélybe került, sokuk még dacol és ellenáll, jó néhányra pedig már keresztet vethetünk, hiszen az elmúlt év-ezredek, de leginkább az utolsó két, felgyorsult évszázad sokukat eltörölte a föld színéről. Felkutatásuk, rendszerezésük már csak ezért is fontos és sürgető feladat; és kötelesség, hiszen így gyakorlati védelmük is könnyebben megoldható lesz (1. ábra).Halmaink nem egyszerűen csak sírok. Az Alföld felbecsülhetetlen kultúrtörténeti kincsei, a puszták élő műemlékei. Olyan régészeti lelőhelyek, melyekhez történeti mondák, népha-gyományok, hiedelmek fűződnek, nevük régi falvak, események, növények, állatok, szemé-lyek emlékét őrzi, lejtőiken értékes növénytársulások húzódnak meg, hajdani vizeket, utakat kísérnek, régi határok nyomvonalai haladnak át rajtuk, ősi településeket, középkori templomokat rejtenek magukban (GAZDAPUSZTAI 1968; ECSEDY 1973a; ECSEDY 1977;BEDE 2008a). Mélyük és az alattuk konzervált rétegek komplex vizsgálata az őskörnyezet növény-és állatvilágát, földtani képződmények történetét, eltemetett talajok fejlődésének útjait tárják fel (SÜMEGI 2003; TÓTH 2004a; PETŐ-BARCZI 2011).Bevezetőnket zárjuk Csizmazia György biológus gondolataival, aki már az 1980-as évek elején szorgalmazta halmaink törvényes oltalmát. "A kutatási célkitűzés adott és ismert. S látható, hogy ez a munka csak a […] kutatások integrált szellemi erejével valósulhat meg. Ha a régészek, geodéták, néprajzosok, botanikusok, zoológusok segítik egymást. Cselekednünk kell, nem sírni, de odacsapni az asztalra! Előtte pedig az adatokat feltárni, s megindokolni érveinket." (CSIZMAZIA 1982: 210 CélokAz alföldi halmok nagy száma, a természettudományos módszerek fejlődése és a szemlélet változása lehetővé, sőt szükségessé is teszi a rendszeres kutatást, és ezzel együtt történetük mind teljesebb és mélyebb megismerését. Ez a történet nem csak egy szűken vett régészeti keret, hiszen a kurgánok komplex vizsgálata lehetőséget biztosít egy széleskörű, átfogó, a geológiát és környezettörténetet, valamint a természetvédelmi problémákat is magában foglaló értelmezésre is. Alapvetően két átfogó fejezet kutatási eredményein keresztül szeretnénk bemutatni a tiszántúli halmok legfőbb vizsgálati lehetőségeit. Az első a hortobágyi -Karcag és Kunmaradaras települések határán álló -Ecse-halomról és annak komplex természettudomá-nyi és régészeti feldolgozásáról szól: a halom régészeti geológiai és környezettörténeti szempontú rekonstrukciója áll vizsgálódásunk középpontjában. A másik fejezet a Közép-Tiszántúl halmainak teljességre törekvő régészeti topográfiai eredményeit és környezettörténeti szempontú vizsgálatát mutatja be, konkrét esettanulmányok segítségével.Az Ecse-halom bemutatása kapcsán több érintett tudomán...
Civilisations including ancient ones, have shaped the global ecosystems in many ways through a co-evolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of ancient and lost civilisations are seldom considered in conservation. Here using a continental-scale dataset containing over 1,000 data records on the localities, land cover, protection status and cultural values related to ancient steppic burial mounds (so-called kurgans), we evaluated how these iconic and widespread landmarks can contribute to grassland conservation in the Eurasian steppes, which is one of the most endangered biomes on Earth. By using Bayesian logistic generalized regressions and proportional odds logistic regressions, we aimed to reveal the potential of mounds in preserving grasslands considering landscapes with different levels of land use transformation. We also compared the conservation potential of mounds situated inside and outside protected areas and assessed whether the presence of cultural, historical or spiritual values support the maintenance of grasslands on them. We revealed that kurgans have enormous importance in preserving grasslands in transformed landscapes outside protected areas, where they can act as habitat islands, and provide an additional pillar for conservation by contributing to habitat conservation and improvement of habitat connectivity. We found that besides their steep slopes hindering ploughing, the existence of cultural, historical or religious values could almost double the chance for grassland occurrence on kurgans due to the related extensive land use and the respect of local communities. As the estimated number of steppic mounds is about 600,000 and also similar historical features exist in all continents, our results can be upscaled to a global level. Our results also suggest that an integrative socio-ecological approach in conservation might support the positive synergistic effects of conservational, landscape and cultural values.
The aim of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive report on the cadastral works of mounds in the central part of Tiszántúl (the region east of the Tisza River), taking the burial mounds of the Late Copper Age Yamnaya entity as a starting point. Theoretical and field research began around the beginning of the 19 th century, and in the second half of the 20 th century systematic site registration took place, mainly due to the so-called 'Archaeological Sites of Hungary' project. Later on national surveys and local initiatives were carried out, but they are of very different quality. In addition to the main characteristics and results of the creation of these cadastres, we also outline further scientific studies on mounds.
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