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Landscape use of protected areas in the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region
179-193Views:110One of the biggest questions of developing rural areas is that people and organisations living and making their activity there how and in what measure utilize the local or obtainable external
resources. The concept of the landscape expresses the direct connection of the natural resources with the socio-economic processes. This is a two-way connection, (1) on the one hand the single landscapes provide the unique combination of natural conditions for the socio-economic utilisation which is different from other landscapes, (2) on the other hand as the result of the interaction of natural spheres together with the social and economic spheres the landscapes change in a different manner and in a different measure. The landscape as a territorial unit and as a resource is inseparable from the natural resources, and the nature
conservation plays an increasingly important role in the use of the landscape and landscape management, which is an essential task not only in protected areas, but everywhere. The natural resources, the landscape, the nature conservation and the landscape use are related tightly, in which the so-called ecological/biological resources and their sustainable use have a
significant role. -
Managing the relationship between natural spawning areas on unprotected floodplains and on protected man-made fishponds
25-31Views:91The economic land management of unprotected floodplain areas is possible only if considered jointly with protected floodplain areas, for which facility fisheries provide a solution. One solution could be that a part of the natural fish increment of the spawning-grounds on unprotected floodplains be raised in protected side fishponds and then later sold. This kind of fishery utilization is also favourable from economic, conservationist and flood protection aspects.
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Preparatory studies for modelling production on protected grasslands
64-69Views:174There is a mutual dependence between nature conservation activity and agriculture in Hungary, as the management of the protected areas cannot be achieved without ecological farming methods. Moreover, viable economic activity can be only imagined through the harmonization of agricultural and nature conservation interests. From a nature conservation point of view, grass management systems play the greatest role in domestic agricultural systems. Yet, due to the prohibition of certain management methods and the spatial and temporal restraints on grazing, nature conservation activities have priority on protected grasslands. While nature conservation activity is still of prominent importance, it is not equally suitable for the economical management of protected grasslands per se. With our examinations, we would like to emphasize the common interests of these mutually dependent activities and to promote bilateral cooperation. Our aim is to model the production of grass on the great pastureland of Hajdúbagos. Potential grass production levels are easily calculable with a computer model based on data collected through a series of test harvests, as well as by factoring in changing climatic factors and by simulating the effects of grazing animal species and stocks. This model is not only useful for determining the optimal number of the grazing animal stock and grazing method, and therefore the most suitable management strategy, but it also supports local farmers to be able to plan their activities. In this way, both nature conservation and economic aims can be easily harmonized, which would be an important factor for the sustainable development of rural areas.
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The Role and Significance of Soil Analyses in Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection
3-8Views:98Hungary has a rich history of soil analyses and soil mapping. Our main tasks today are the preservation of soil fertility as well as balancing the goals of production and environmental protection. The main requirement of agricultural production is to adapt to ecological and economic conditions.
In a series of consultative meetings in the past seven years, representatives from Central and Eastern Europe have analyzed nutrient management practices in their respective countries. According to a joint memorandum agreed upon in 2000, in the countries awaiting accession, the quantity of nutrients used per hectare is considerably smaller than the Western-European usage targeted through special subsidies. The current low nutrient usage contradicts the principles of sustainability and that of the efficient use of resources, jeopardizing soil fertility.
In Hungary, the use of inorganic fertilizers underwent a dynamic development, which manifested itself in an almost tenfold usage growth between 1960 and 1985. This growth slowed down somewhat between 1985 and 1990 and then reduced dramatically after 1990, reaching record lows at the usage levels of the 60s. The nutrient supply has had a negative balance for the last 15 years.
The increasing and then decreasing usage trends can equally be detected in the domestic yield averages of wheat and corn as well as in the nutrient supply of soils. Yields were the largest when usage levels were the highest, and decreased thereafter. Draughts have also contributed to smaller yields. The dramatic decrease in the use of inorganic fertilizers when adequate organic fertilizers are lacking endangers our soils’ fertility.
About 50% of soils in Hungary are acidic. Acidity is mostly determined by soil formation, but especially on soils with a low buffering capacity, this acidity may intensify due to inorganic fertilizers. Sustainable agriculture requires the chemical improvement of acidic soils. According to their y1 values, the majority of our acidic soils need to be improved. This chemical soil remediation is required in 15% of the acidic soils, while it’s recommended for another 20% of these soils.
Results of the analyses conducted in the framework of the soil-monitoring system set up in Hungary in 1992 show that in 95% of the analyzed samples, the toxic element content is below the allowable limit. Cultivated areas are not contaminated; toxicity above the legal level was found only in specific high-risk sampling areas: in the vicinity of industry, due to local overload. The basic principle of sustainable agriculture is to preserve soil fertility without undue strain on the environment. The intensity of the production needs to be considered according to the conditions of the site; i.e.; nutrient management needs to be site-specific. It is recommended to differentiate three types of cultivated land in terms of environmental sensitivity: areas with favorable conditions, endangered areas, and protected areas, and then to adopt nutrient management practices accordingly. To meet all the above-mentioned goals is impossible without systematic soil analysis. Tests conducted by the national monitoring system cannot replace regular field measurements. -
Ecological value of wood energy plantations in the support of some animal groups
143-148Views:55Today, some environmental problems have reached such severe proportions that it is no longer enough to recognise them, but environmentally friendly solutions must be used to reduce them. The reduction in the area of natural forests of native species is causing problems in several ways.
This research aimed to highlight how environmental, conservation and economic interests can be reconciled. In addition to natural forests, wood energy plantations are becoming increasingly important. Energy import dependency is a problem for most countries, for which wood energy plantations can partly offer an alternative. Native forests can be protected, and their area increased where possible. Meanwhile, energy plantations can be established in areas with low agricultural productivity.
In this experiment, I studied a plantation of Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur), a Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and a Paulownia (Paulownia Shan Tong). I selected burrowing birds and ground-dwelling arthropods as indicator groups. I did this by establishing a nesting colony and soil trapping. I wanted to demonstrate that, in addition to natural forests, wood energy plantations have a role not only in economic terms but also in maintaining certain animal groups. Soil trapping tests were carried out in all three tree plantations.
The obtained results showed that in the Paulownia plantation, the occupancy rate of nest boxes was almost 100%, while in the Black Locust plantation it was around 30%. Among the species that occupied the nesting sites, the Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) were more abundant, while Great Tit (Parus major) was present in the Black Locust plantation. These are opportunistic species for which nesting opportunity is the most important factor, since their feeding area (in the case of the Common Starling and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow) is not typical of the nesting area. The soil trap investigations show that there are no significant differences in the composition of the arthropod group (beetles, spiders) in the study areas.
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Fishes protected of Natura 2000 system in Slovakia
9-12Views:81The timely and effective establishment of Natura 2000 network is one of the greatest environmental challenges for the new Member States of the European Union. Slovak Republic is facing this challenge now. By the June 2005, the Government in our country must prepare a list of sites to be included in the Natura network, according to the criteria set up in the Habitat Directive. Natura 2000 sites, according to the specificEUDirectivesconsistofSpecialAreasofConservation(SACs),andSpecialProtectionAreas(SPAs).TheSPAsandtheSACs, the latter selected as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), will be incorporated into the Natura 2000 network. The problems of proclaiming the system of protected areas of European importance for the Natura 2000 have been one of the major topics of the ichthyological activities in our country in recent years.
For 3 lampreys and 20 fishspeciestheterritoryofpotentialsiteofcommunityinterest(pSCI)hasbeenlimitedandproposed.Theselection of localities and examinations of population state in individual species of fishespresentedintheAnnex(II.,IVandV.)totheCouncilDirective No. 92/43/EEC were carried out in 2003/2004. In total 179 pSCI localities for fishandlampreysinthealpinebiogeographicregion (83) and in the pannonian biogeographic region (96) pSCI in the Slovak republic were selected and limited. The number of pSCI localities selected for individual species is different regards to their distribution within the river net of Slovakia. For example, for species of general distribution, 30 localities pSCI (Misgurnus fossilis, Rhodeus sericeus, Gobio albipinnatus, Barbus barbus) or 35 localities pSCI (Cobitis elongatoides, Barbus peloponnesius), have been proposed, on the contrary, in several species of exclusive distribution as Lampetra planeri - 8, Gobio uranoscopus - 9 and Zingel zingel -12 localities.
The pSCI territory for individual species of the ichthyofauna presented here represents the firststageintheprocessofcreatingtheprotected territory system of European interest Natura 2000 in the territory of the Slovakia for this group of aquatic vertebrates. The list of proposal sites will have to be submitted to the European Commission by the date of Accession. -
Statistical comparison of coverage data of disturbed habitats in the Hajdúság
171-178Views:87Between 2002 and 2006 we made the coenological survey of five disturbed habitats marked as grasslands. With our coenological examinations and the statistical analyses we wanted to make the detailed botanical survey of the given five habitats in order to verify that the maintenance of habitats amongst agricultural lands – and considered as less valuable – is of high importance and necessary from an environmental point of view, since these habitats are often living and feeding areas of many rare and/or protected plant- and animal species.
As a result of the statistical analyses we have pointed out that number of species in case of all the five habitats extreme fluctuation characterizes the statistical universe. As regards the
average of the coverage it is the highest in case of the third habitat (degraded Puccinellia grassland), and the coefficient of variation shows homogenity as well. In examining the Shannon-value the average is the highest in case of the second habitat (Alopecurus meadow), and the statistical dispersion is the smallest. The coefficient of variation shows medium variability. The median of evenness is the lower in case of the third habitat (degraded
Puccinellia meadow) and the statistical is the highest here as well.
We have done the Hierarchical and the K-Means Cluster Analyses for the 21 plant associations of the five habitats. Both cluster analyses put the same associations into the same cluster, so
one can state that the associations in each cluster are different from the associations of the other ones according to the coverage data of the plant families. -
Valuation of the National Agricultural Environmental Management Project’s Extensive Grassland Farming Target Project in Two Counties
20-25Views:78The National Agricultural Environmental Management Project’s (NAEMP) extensive grassland farming project is aimed at extensive cultivation on of nearly 1.1 million hectares of grassland, and at improving the state of grasslands with nature- and environment protecting methods. By using the 2002 data (the NAEMP’s first year’s data), I came to the following conclusions: Within the Extensive grassland farming project, a state subsidy was applied for on 8.94% of Hungary’s total grasslands. In Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Hajdú-Bihar counties, applied for state subsidies covered 12% of the grassland of the counties.10.45% of the projects arrived from the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, and 28.56% from the county of Hajdú-Bihar. In Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, the support was 37.7% of the total subsidy, while in Hajdú-Bihar, it was 37.1%, unlike nationwide, which was 30.1%.The intensity of the applications is respectively 1.7 and 2.5 times more than the National (1.24) value.
In my view, in some fields, which are not between nature protected areas you’d better consider permitting intensive cultivation, simultaneously with grazing, with the observation of nature- and environmental regulations. -
Tulip bulbs preparation by heat treatment for forced culture in green house
70-72Views:97Tulip can be grown in parks as ornamental plant and cut flowers, or possibly in protected areas for cut flowers during winter and early
spring.
An important condition for the successful cultivation of tulips is the quality of the bulbs that are going to be planted and their
biological preparation.
Under the quality aspect bulbs have to be uniform and large, preferably with circumference greater than 11 cm and must have good
phytosanitarical status.
Preparation of organic bulbs for ensuring the continuation of the differentiation process of germs (floral), is made during the storage.
It is known that the preparation of organic bulbs are made in interaction with environmental factors, among which temperature plays an
important role. At the beginning and throughout the process of biological preparation, temperature is maintained at a higher level then the
temperature must be low until planting.
The temperature level and the duration of treatment varies by followed objective respectively early or late flowering and staggered
flowers production over a longer period of time.