Search

Search Results

• The roots of environmental management: Foundations in the hstory of science, resource protection, and a landscape ecological critique of sustainability indicator systems

  53-55

  Zoltan Verraszto

  Views:

  134

  This paper argues that environmental protection, in its original and scientifically consistent sense, is not the conservation of isolated elements or states, but the preservation of the operability of natural systems. From this perspective, sustainability is not an independent normative goal, but a necessary consequence of maintaining the functioning of the environment.
  Building on the scientific-historical development of Earth system thinking – from the principle of actualism through evolutionary-scale interpretations and systems-oriented approaches – the study emphasizes the primacy of processes, dynamics, and spatial organization over static descriptions. The paper adopts the operational concept of environment = landscape, in which natural, social, and economic processes interact within a common spatial framework, forming an integrated, functioning system. Within this framework, current sustainability indicator systems are critically examined. These systems predominantly rely on social and economic performance metrics, while largely neglecting the physical, chemical, and biological processes that constitute their natural foundations. A similar conceptual distortion is identified in the prevailing practice of water management, where water is treated primarily as a stock or resource, rather than as the outcome of a functioning landscape-scale hydrological system. The paper further argues that ecosystem services and water resources should be interpreted as consequences of landscape functioning, not as primary objects of protection. Protecting outcomes instead of underlying processes inevitably leads to systemic instability. In its concluding synthesis, the study highlights the Carpathian Basin as a paradigmatic case where environmental processes form an integrated, transboundary system shaped by basin-scale geology, hydrology, and landscape structure. Consequently, sustainability and environmental protection in this region can only be meaningfully addressed through coherent, landscape-based, and system-level approaches that transcend administrative boundaries.

• The Role of Grassland in EU Soil Protection Strategy

  3-15

  Gyorgy Varallyay

  Views:

  191

  The three most important life quality criteria are: healthy and good-quality food, clean water and pleasant environment. All three are closely related to the sustainable management of natural resources; conservation of soil and water resources; rational land use and landscape preservation. Soils are conditionally renewable natural resources, consequently, their rational use, conservation, and the maintenance of their multipurpose functionality have particular significance both in the national economy and environment protection. The main soil functions are: integrator (transformer) of other natural resources; most important media for biomass production; storage of heat, water, nutrients, pollutants; buffer of various natural and human-induced stresses; huge natural filter (preventing groundwater pollution); detoxication media of various harmful substances; habitat for soil biota, gene-reservoir, media of biodiversity; conservator of the natural and human heritage.

  The maintenance of these functions is the key-element of sustainable development on all levels of the decision-making process: Globe → continent → region → country → subregion → settlement → farm → field. The EU Strategy for soil protection focuses attention on 8 environmental threats, for their prevention, elimination or moderation:

  – water and wind erosion;

  – decrease in organic matter resources;

  – compaction and structure destruction;

  – soil sealing;

  – the increasing frequency, duration and degree of extreme moisture events: flood, waterlogging – drought;

  – point and non-point (diffuse) soil pollution;

  – salinization/alkalization/sodification;

  – decline in biodiversity (decreasing number and activity of soil organisms, narrowing their species spectra).

  The EU-conform Soil Conservation Strategy of Hungary was elaborated during the last decades on the basis of long-term soil survey, soil analyses, soil mapping and soil monitoring activities. It comprises three main tasks:

  – the prevention, elimination or moderation of soil degradation processes;

  – the reduction of the unfavourable economic, ecological, environmental and social consequences of extreme moisture regimes;

  – the control of the biogeochemical cycle of elements: optimum nutrient supply of plants; prevention of harmful soil pollution and contamination of the „food chain”.

  Grassland management has to play a significant role in these actions. In addition to fodder production, rational grassland management can considerably contribute to the storage, buffer, filter and gene-reservoir functions of soil, to the improvement of soil moisture regime, to the moderation of extreme moisture conditions, and to the reduction of soil losses caused by water or wind erosion. In spite of these favourable impacts grasslands (covering about 12% of Hungary) have never been in the focus of Hungarian agriculture.

  Grasslands were always restricted to marginal lands (sands, salt affected soils, peatlands, floddplains) with low and risky (highly weather-dependent) biomass production and low animal carrying capacity. Relatively productive grasslands were upturned for corn in large hilly areas (resulting serious erosion losses and landscape deterioration); the huge floodplain grasslands were used for other agricultural crops after flood control and river regulation; peatland grasslands were also considerably reduced by the drainage of these areas and used (not always successfully and efficiently) for arable crops. Huge areas became seriously degraded wastelands or „weedlnds” due to irregular grazing, lack of weed control, plant nutrition, water management. Under improper management not only the biomass production decreased considerably but the soil conservation functions of grassland were also deteriorated, sometimes dramatically. The poor and degraded grassland vegetation were not able to prevent (or at least moderate) water erosion losses in hilly areas, wind erosion losses in the dry sand regions or „over-drained” ameliorated peatlands, and even their gene-reservoir functions are sometimes threatened seriously.

  Rational grassland management is an important element of both the European and Hungarian Soil Conservation Strategy. Its scientific bases are well-known. The details have to be determined by further research and scientific programs. The existing knowledge should be broadcast using all available information channels: teaching and education on various levels; demonstrations; media programs, etc. A proper system of stimulating economy regulations should be developed and formulated in various-level legal documents. But first of all an environment-friendly moral must be developed accepting the concept of sustainable grassland management.

• Multiple uses of grasslands: Papers of the „Challenges and Aspects in Grassland Management” conference held on 22-23 May 2008.

  5-8

  Geza Nagy

  Views:

  294

  In recent decades grassland science has identified all those products and services, which grasslands can provide for society. Among commodity goods traditional (meat, milk, leather, fibre, medicinal plants, animal excreta for heating, animal power to cultivate crops) and new products (labelled food from grasslands, biodiversity as gene pool for plant breeding, grass for energy) have been discussed. Non commodity benefits of grasslands are discussed in global (mitigation of climate change, air quality, water resources, soil health, carbon sequestration, maintenance of gene pools for biodiversity), regional (aesthetic or landscape values, conservation of watersheds, facilitation of tourism and hunting, avoidance of disasters such as avalanches and landslides, buffer zones for power lines, rehabilitation of landscape damages in mining areas) and local (preservation of grassland based cultural heritage) contexts. These products and services are investigated from the points of sustainability and multifunctionality. Existing grasslands and turfs in the county are categorized according to their basic functions. It is concluded that grasslands are the only ecosystem that is able to fulfil so mary tasks and requirements. Future prospects of grassland use in Hungary are outlined from the point of multifunctionality. Production functions of grassland are facing a slight increase due to organic farming. Ecological function will maintain their high importance. Remarkable increase is expected in amenity uses of grasslands. 

• Habitat management on agrar-landscape, with special regard to grassland management: Papers presented at the „Timely questions in grassland and game management” scientific conference (Hungarian Academy of Sciences – Kaposvár University, 18-19 May 2006)

  13-24

  Sandor Farago

  Views:

  289

  The invariably unfavorable agrarian environment can be neutralized only through a change paradigm change. This would mean the adoption of the practice of "wise use”, which implies the introduction of small game management supported with habitat management. Habitat management concerns 5-10% of the areas and predator management/control according to need result also in the increase of the target species; in this case, small game populations, by increasing the diversity of the habitat structure. The preservation of grasslands, their small game-friendly management, and the development and maintenance of a durable, undisturbed grassland structure primarily in the habitat margins play an essential role in this work.