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Short communications
300-310Views:6161. New occurrence of Apium repens (Jacq.) Lagasca in Szigetköz region (NW Hungary)
2. Casual occurrences of Limonium gmelinii (Willd.) Kuntze subsp. hungaricum (Klokov) Soó in roadside verges
3.On the first sub-spontaneous occurrence of Asparagus verticillatus L. in Hungary
4. New occurrence data of Digitalis lanata Ehrh. in Kemence (Börzsöny Mts., N Hungary)
5. First report on the occurrence of Prospero paratheticum Speta from Danube–Tisza Interfluve (C Hungary)
6. Some interesting floristic data from Szigetköz (NW Hungary) after the great flooding of Danube in 2013
7. Newly discovered locality of the pellitory-of-the-wall (Parietaria judaica L.) in the city of Debrecen (E Hungary)
8. Kindbergia praelonga (Hedw.) Ochyra in the urban bryoflora of the town of Sopron (W Hungary)
9. Additional data to the distribution of Plantago coronopus L. in Hungary
10. On the formerly occurrence of Spiraea crenata L. in Kunpeszér (C Hungary)
11. History of discovery of Spiraea crenata L. on Mt Sas (Buda Mts., Hungary)
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Discovery of a new large population of Prunus tenella on a young old-field suggests remarkable regeneration ability of the species
32-38Views:329Kurgans are ancient burial mounds built by nomadic steppic cultures across Eurasia.
These monuments are important cultural landmarks, and often also preserve the remnants of dry grasslands even in intensively used agricultural landscapes. In the past centuries, many kurgans have been ploughed and their vegetation has been destroyed. Due to their recent inclusion in the agrienvironmental schemes in Hungary, crop production has been ceased on many kurgans in the past years. Here we present an interesting botanical discovery which we made during our country-scale survey of spontaneously recovering grasslands on kurgans. We discovered a large population of approximately 15,000 shoots of the protected loess grassland plant Prunus tenella Batsch (syn.: Amygdalus nana L.) on the Fekete-halom kurgan near Tiszainoka, in the centre of the Great Hungarian Plain. The mound had been used as an intensive cropland until 2014. Most probably, the plants could re-establish from some hidden shoots that could persist in the refuge provided by the concrete elements of a geodesic mark, and after the cessation of ploughing it could expand onto the north and west-facing slopes of the mound by sprouting and by germination from the persistent soil seed bank. Besides the conservation importance of this floristic discovery, it also suggests that spontaneous regeneration can be an effective restoration measure and that kurgans abandoned from agricultural cultivation can serve as suitable habitats for rare and endangered species. -
The role of clothing in antropochorous seed dispersal
77-86Views:161Humans play an increasing role in seed dispersal. Through human help, seeds can bridge distances which otherwise would not be possible. The most important human-mediated dispersal types are: the spread on clothing, shoes and vehicles. The effect of these dispersal types can be combined in many cases. During dispersal with clothing, the seeds attach to cloths, but its probability depends on whether the seeds or other parts of the plant have morphological characteristics which make the attachment possible (e.g. hooks, hairs, spikes) and on the adhesion characteristics of the clothing (cotton/nylon, drill/cotton). This way, cloth-dispersal can be considered analogous to epizoochory. In our review, we evaluated the publications about human-mediated seed dispersal on cloths. In total we have found twelve experimental and field studies on the topic. So far, seeds of 449 species have been documented to be able to spread on clothing worldwide, out of the 449 species, 262 occur in Hungary. With future studies, these numbers will be increasing considerably. The average dispersal distance of the seeds was estimated between 150 and 5000 m, but the distance could be significantly increased, if means of transport are used during the dispersion. According to the results, the seeds of weed and invasive plants are dispersed most frequently on clothing (87% of all species, 26% of species occurring in Hungary). These cause serious damage worldwide. We emphasise that people should pay attention to the type of clothing, when they are visiting remote and unique nature reserves. For instance, waterrepellent foot wears could significantly reduce the adhesion of the seeds therefore it can prevent unintended seed dispersal. Further investigations are needed to find solutions to these problems, especially in regions with lack of these studies, such as in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.
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Literature reviews
112–113Views:162DEÁK B. (2018): Természet és történelem. A kurgánok szerepe a sztyeppi vegetáció megőrzésében. – Ökológiai Mezőgazdasági Kutatóintézet Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft., Debrecen, 152 pp.
MOLNÁR V. A. (szerk., 2018): Élet a halál után. A temetők élővilága. – Debreceni Egyetem, Természettudományi és Technológiai Kar, Növénytani Tanszék, Debrecen, 216 pp.
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Short communications
168-174Views:2841. Occurrence of Lycopodium clavatum L. in 'Egri-Bükkalja' microregion (NE Hungary)
2. Contribution to the urban flora of Debrecen (E Hungary)
3. Contributions to the distribution data published in the Atlas of Hungarian Orchids
4. New occurrence of Sisyrinchium bermudiana L. in the Carpathian Basin (Transylvania, Romania)
5. Occurrence of Myagrum perfoliatum L. near Mezőberény town (East Hungary)
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Contributions to the flora of kurgans in the Middle Tisza region
94–105Views:552Kurgans are ancient burial mounds built by nomadic steppic cultures. Embedded in the heavily transformed landscapes of the Carpathian Basin they often serve as last refuges for rare and endangered plant species. In our paper we publish floristic data collected on 82 kurgans located in the area of the Hortobágy National Park Directorate. Our dataset covers 64 CEU quarter quadrates, and the territory of 45 settlements. We provide data on 39 taxa that are either protected (e.g. Anchusa barrelieri, Centaurea solstitialis, Ranunculus illyricus and Phlomis tuberosa) or regionally rare (e.g. Aegilops cylindrica, Astragalus austriacus, Glaucium corniculatum and Trifolium diffusum). Our records demonstrate that kurgans have a vital role in maintaining the populations of rare and endangered grassland species even in transformed landscapes.
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Mondró-halom kurgan (Hencida, East Hungary), a refugium of loess grassland vegetation
143-149Views:515Fragments of the natural grassland vegetation are often preserved only in those areas which are inadequate for arable farming. In many cases kurgans hold the last remnants of dry grasslands in lowland areas, like the Great Hungarian Plain. They also have an essential role in preserving cultural and landscape values. Moreover, they harbour several rare plant and animal species. Our aim was to explore the vegetation of the Mondró-halom kurgan (Hencida, East Hungary). Altogether we found 74 vascular plant species in the loess grassland of the kurgan. Several rare species of the Bihari-sík region, such as Inula germanica, Ranunculus illyricus and Rosa gallica were also detected. The steep slopes of the kurgan with various micro-sites and exposures supported a species-rich vegetation. Instead of its small area it harboured several forest steppic species and several steppic flora elements (Continental, Pontic-Mediterranean, Pontic, Pontic-Pannonic and Turanian).
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Short communications
257–266Views:7591. Occurrence of Ophioglossum vulgatum in a dry loess grassland in the Tiszafüred–Kunhegyes plain (Great Hungarian Plain)
2. Dolomite rocky grassland species introduced by raw materials of a road construction (Kecskemét, Great Hungarian Plain)
3. Geranium divaricatum on the Hevesi-sík, next to Füzesabony (Great Hungarian Plain)
4. Ophrys sphegodes in the Castriferreicum (W Hungary)
5. First occurrence of Cephalanthera longifolia var. rosea in Hungary
6. Spiraea crenata in the Eastern Bakony Mts (Transdanubian Range, Hungary)
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Seed dispersal and habitat preference of the endangered Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus L.) and larger goose species in the Hortobágy National Park
136-147Views:170Several studies found that waterfowl are important endozoochorous dispersal vectors for plant species. Germination of the seed content of their droppings provides valuable information on their diet and also on their role in seed dispersal. Our aim was to analyse the seed dispersal potential of the critically endangered habitat-specialist Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) in their autumn and spring staging areas in Hortobágy National Park. The study was supported by the LIFE10-NAT/GR/000638 project. We also studied the seed dispersal potential of larger generalist goose species foraging in the same areas, such as Greater White-Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons Scopoli) and Greylag Goose (Anser anser L.). We asked the following questions: (i) Which habitat types are the most frequently used by Lesser White-fronted Goose and larger goose species? (ii) Is the different habitat preference of Lesser White-fronted Goose and larger goose species reflected in the seed content of their droppings? (iii) Are there seasonal differences between the seed content of spring and autumn droppings? We identified the most frequently used feeding habitats. We collected 40 droppings of Lesser White-fronted Goose and larger goose species per site in April and October 2012, in total we collected 720 droppings per species. Droppings were concentrated and spread on trays filled with sterilised potting soil. Samples were germinated in a greenhouse from April to November 2013. In total we germinated 21 plant species from the goose droppings, which suggests that goose species play an important role in seed dispersal. We found that Lesser White-fronted Goose dispersed more species typical to alkali habitats, and fewer weeds compared to larger goose species. Lesser White-fronted Goose and larger goose species used a wide range of feeding habitats, thus, they play an important role in dispersing seeds between habitats along a moisture gradient. Total species number and species number of plant functional groups were higher in autumn droppings. Seed content of the droppings suggests that Lesser White-fronted Goose is confined to natural habitats, thus for the effective protection of this critically endangered species it is crucial to preserve its natural feeding habitats.