The most influential environmental drivers of macrofungal species composition were studied in managed, even-aged, mixed forests of Őrség National Park, Hungary. Functional groups of macrofungi were analyzed separately by non-metric multidimensional scaling and redundancy analysis exploring their relations to tree species composition, stand structure, soil/litter conditions, microclimate, landscape, and management history. Some evidence was given that macrofungi are related to drivers that are relatively easy to measure. It was found that woodinhabiting fungal species composition is driven primarily by the species composition of living trees, while substrate properties and microclimate play minor roles. The terricolous saprotrophic community was determined principally by a litter pH gradient involving tree species composition and soil/litter properties. Microclimate had no concordant effect. No obvious underlying gradients were detected on ectomycorrhizal fungal species composition; however, tree size and litter pH had significant effects. For each group, no clear responses to landscape or management history were detected.

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As modern silviculture in natural forests is based on natural regeneration, finding the most important drivers of regeneration is crucial for forestry as well as conservation. We explored the relationship between numerous environmental and land use history variables and the

Purpose: In the course of our investigation, we analyzed physical and chemical parameters as well as heavy metal contents in the urban soils of Sopron, Hungary. Our aim was to identify the main feedback effects between the town and its environment.Materials and methods: Altogether, 208 samples were collected at 104 sites at depths of 0-10 and 10-20 cm in a standard network. The results have been represented in a GIS system, providing a useful basis for the research. We measured the following chemical and physical parameters: soil pH (pH(H2O), pH(KCl)), calcium carbonate content, particle size distribution, humus content, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) soluble Mn, Cu, Zn, and Fe contents. In addition, 24 heavy metals, including Co, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Ni, were also measured following the method of Lakanen-Erviö. Relationships between these elements were evaluated in both soil layers.Results and discussion: In the downtown, most of the soils we investigated were alkaline. Therefore, the pollution of these soils has not yet leached into deeper layers. The Pb content was very high in both layers throughout the whole area of the town. Urban soils with high Cu content have been found mostly from garden and viticulture areas. Cd contents were the highest in the traffic zones, confirmed by the literature, reaching 3 mg Cd/kg soil. The Co and Zn results were below the Hungarian background and pollution limits (discussed below).Conclusions: According to the results, we have found the highest average values of heavy metals in the soils of parks, possibly originating from traffic contamination, binding in the soil of urban green spaces, thus possibly affecting human health. In the future, a detailed analysis of these polluted green areas will be carried out.

Forest management alters forest site; however, information is still limited about how different silvicultural treatments modify abiotic conditions. We compared the effects of four treatments from three different forestry systems on forest microclimate, litter, and soil conditions. The clear-cutting, retention tree group, preparation cutting, and gap-cutting treatments were experimentally established in a European oak-dominated forest, following a complete block design with six replicates. In this study, we show the results of the quantitative analyses of 21 variables, one year after the interventions. Strong treatment effects were observed for the microclimate and litter variables, whereas the soil characteristics remained similar. The increase in light was the highest in the clear-cuts with intermediate effects in the gap-cuts. The means and variances of the air and soil temperature as well as the vapor pressure deficit were the highest for the clear-cutting treatment. An increase in soil moisture, litter pH, and litter moisture was significant in the gap-cuts and, to a smaller extent, in the clear-cuts. The soil pH increased in the retention tree groups. Microclimatic differences between the treatments were the largest during the summer, which demonstrates the buffering effect of the canopy. Our study confirms that less intensive and more spatially heterogeneous silvicultural treatments (e.g., gap-cutting) preserve a stable below-canopy microclimate more effectively. These results can support and might be useful for both forest management and conservation planning.