High nature-value grasslands including mountain hay meadows are among the most species-rich habitats in Europe. Mountain hay meadows were developed and maintained by traditional, small-scale management systems having high micro-scale land-use diversity (MSLUD), i.e. the parcel-scale diversity of management elements which usually depend on individual decisions and family traditions of local farmers. Detailed studies documenting the effects of micro-scale land-use diversity on vegetation are absent. The main objectives of our study were to analyse the effect of micro-scale land-use diversity and evenness on local plant diversity and cover of the main plant functional types. Field work was carried out in the Gyimes region (Eastern Carpathians, Romania). We conducted semi-structured interviews with the owners and managers of the studied meadow parcels in order to reveal the number of applied management elements (Nm) and applied frequencies of these management elements (e.g. manuring, mowing, seed sowing and weed control) per parcel and to determine the three differently used hay meadow types from interviews. For quantifying MSLUD, the Shannon diversity formula was used, in the case of micro-scale land-use evenness (MSLUE), the original Pielou's evenness formula was applied. To document parcel-scale vegetation features, 4x4-meter quadrats were surveyed in every parcel. We found significant differences in the Nm, MSLUD and MSLUE among the three management types. In models where MSLUD, MSLUE and Nm were built in, we got better model fits and more parsimonious models than in cases where just management type was built into the models. Management elements (manuring, seed sowing) also had a significant effect on vegetation. Our results highlight that micro-scale land-use diversity plays a significant role in the maintenance of plant diversity in traditional, small-scale farming systems. The main drivers behind the high micro-scale land-use diversity may be farmers' personal decisions and family traditions. We argue that for an adequate ecological understanding and conservation of these traditional, small-scale land-use systems, the development of adequate ways of evaluation as well as detailed studies of the effects of several different management elements and land-use diversity on vegetation are needed.
Grassland ecosystems are among the most threatened biomes, and their restoration has become common in nature conservation. Yet restoration is rarely applied specifically for reptiles, which are among the most threatened vertebrates. The Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii) has become extinct in most of lowland Europe, and an endangered subspecies (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) has been a target of habitat restoration and captive breeding in Hungary since 2004. We quantified vegetation properties and the density of reptiles that either spontaneously colonised (three species) or were reintroduced (V. ursinii) in a grassland restored specifically for this purpose. We used a fine-scale survey to estimate the cover, and compositional and vertical diversity of the vegetation. We characterised sampling units along three habitat gradients: wetness, openness and grass tussock size. Model selection based on data from replicated counts showed that Green Lizards (Lacerta viridis) responded positively to vegetation cover and negatively to tussock area and height, and number of burrows. The Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis) responded positively to vegetation cover, vertical diversity and wetness, and negatively to openness. The Balkan Wall Lizard (Podarcis tauricus) responded positively to tussock height and negatively to vegetation cover. Finally, V. ursinii responded positively to vegetation cover and tussock height, and negatively to compositional diversity. Our results show the general importance of structural and compositional diversity of vegetation to reptiles. These results suggest that adaptive management should focus on increasing the total cover (for lizards) and the structural diversity of vegetation (for each species) to benefit reptiles in restored grasslands.
Since meteorological data have been regularly recorded in Hungary, 2010 has been the rainiest year, whereas 2011 and 2012 have been the driest years. Protected grasslands and their management by lowintensity livestock farming are seriously affected by climatic changes. This paper seeks to shed light on stakeholder perceptions of recent extreme weather events, in order to better understand how to adapt the management of vulnerable habitats to anticipated changes. The status of vulnerable habitats is strongly affected by land use change as well; therefore, this process requires stakeholder involvement. Opinions on what aspects are presumed to be affected most by changes in climate were gathered during semistructured interviews from farmers and conservationists in the Körös-Maros National Park in Hungary. Stakeholders revealed negative impacts resulting from extreme floods, droughts, and changes in rainfall and temperature, and they highlighted challenges relating to conflicting management objectives and perverse incentives arising from policy-level issues (such as regulatory structures and implementation). Subjects noted that years with high precipitation caused adverse conditions for livestock, late mowing due to inaccessible pastures, poor quality of hay, and undergrazing (but still compaction damage). Years with negative precipitation records show decreased quantity and quality of hay, loss of valuable forage, winter shortage of green fodder, land degradation, increased water demand, shifting grazing seasons, decreasing carrying capacity, overgrazing, heat stress, declines in physical activities, expansion of invasive alien species, and conflicts between economic interests and nature conservation objectives. In only a few cases was the awareness of these issues converted into practical adaptation or mitigation activities.
Jelen közleményünk annak a sorozatnak a kilencedik része, melynek célja Magyarország edényes növényfajainak elterjedési atlasza térképeinek kiegészítése aktuális előfordulási adatokkal. Ezúttal 734 edényes taxon előfordulási adatait közöljük az ország szinte egész területéről (mintegy 222 flóratérképezési kvadrátból), de legnagyobb számban az Északi-középhegységből és a Duna–Tisza-köze északi részéből, valamint a Hanság déli pereméről, a Maros-mentéről és a Hortobágyról. Összesen 1632 új adattal járulunk hozzá az Atlaszhoz. Az adatok között számos ritkább, vagy lokálisan jelentős őshonos, esetleg bizonytalan őshonosságú taxont találunk, sok esetben számolunk be terjedő idegenhonos fajok új lelőhelyeiről, egyes esetekben pedig túlélő idegenhonosokról. Emellett országosan elterjedt fajok esetében is közöljük az Atlasz térképein korábban nem jelölt lelőhelyeket.
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