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Short communications
257–266Views:5801. 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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Discovery of a new large population of Prunus tenella on a young old-field suggests remarkable regeneration ability of the species
32-38Views:302Kurgans 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. -
Contributions to the flora of kurgans in the Middle Tisza region
94–105Views:513Kurgans 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:485Fragments 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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Remnants of closed oak woods on loess in the Mezőföld (Pulmonario mollis-Quercetum roboris Kevey 2008)
66–93Views:159The phytosociological characterization of closed oak forests occurring in the loess-covered part of Central Hungary (Mezőföld) is presented. Such forest fragments are found very sporadically in that predominantly treeless region, mostly in semi-dry habitats of north-facing hillsides. This plant community represents an intermediate stage between open steppe woodland (Aceri tatarici-Quercetum pubescentis-roboris) and closed mesic oak-hornbeam forests (Corydali cavae-Carpinetum). Analyses of 20 phytosociological samples using multivariate grouping methods (cluster analysis, principal coordinates analysis) showed a clear difference between these samples and samples of similar communities occurring in the area. In the species composition the characteristic elements of dry and mesic oak forests (Quercetea pubescentis-petraeae, Quercetalia cerridis, Aceri tatarici-Quercion and Fagetalia, respectively) played a major role. On the other hand, dry grassland species (Festuco-Brometea, Festucetalia valesiacae, Festucion rupicolae, etc.) were much less significant than in steppe woodlands. In terms of chorology, European and sub-Mediterranean floristic elements were dominant in the samples, while the proportion of continental elements was substantially smaller than that in steppe woodlands. As a result, our samples were identified with the plant association Pulmonario mollis-Quercetum roboris Kevey 2008, which is classified into the suballiance Polygonato latifolio-Quercenion roboris Kevey 2008 in the phytosociological system.
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Asparagus verticillatus L. in Hungary
38-43Views:151Climbing asparagus (Asparagus verticillatus L.) a new adventive species to the Hungarian flora was recently discovered in the city of Pécs (South Hungary) in 2011–2012. Taxonomy, morphological description and current localities of the species are presented in this paper. A. verticillatus is a mediterranean-submediterranean species native in Balkan Peninsula, Eastern Europe, Western- and Middle Asia. The species is a popular ornamental plant in Hungary, but no data was available about its escape or naturalisation in the country so far. Herbarium specimens from Hungary were collected so far mostly from botanical and private gardens; only one specimen was collected in a dry grassland along a roadside in the city, respectively. The newly discovered small populations are located mostly in secondary dry grasslands, at the edges of vineyards and private gardens on the southern slopes of the Mecsek Mts and only one specimen was found far from the residential area in natural vegetation. Because climbing asparagus is a frequently planted ornamental plant in several locations of Pécs, further escape, naturalisation and persistence of the species is possible in the future.
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Contributions to the knowledge of biology and Hungarian distribution range of Orobanche reticulata
95-98Views:398Some new Hungarian occurrences of Orobanche reticulata Wallr. are discussed in this paper. On the Bér-hegy hill (Eastern Bakony Mts) the species was observed on a so far unknown host plant (Carduus hamulosus). Although the species usually flowers from May to July in Hungary, the observed individual was in full bloom in October, probably due to the extremely rainy year (2010). Another population of the species, found at Magyaralmás settlement in the foreground of the Vértes Hills, deserves attention because of its size. In early summer of 2020, individuals of O. reticulata appeared in a great quantity (several hundred ones) on a fallow land that was developed from a natural dry grassland having been ploughed in the previous year. In this case the local host plants were Carduus nutans subsp. leiophyllus and Carduus acanthoides. Some further records of the species from the Transdanubian Mts and the regions of Külső-Somogy and Mezőföld present new data in the Hungarian flora mapping program.
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Data to the flora of Heves–Borsod Plain I. Distribution of forest, forest steppe and steppe elements
16-65Views:210This paper reports new floristic data of 159 taxa (158 species and one hybrid) from the Heves–Borsod Plain (5 micro-regions between the Mátra and Bükk Mountains and the Tisza River valley). The data were collected between 1999 and 2018 and supplemented with collected specimen (altogether 93 herbarium sheets). This study is the first part of a thematic series that analyzes the distribution patterns of forest, forest steppe and dry grassland ‘steppe’ species, beyond reporting floristic data. The data were derived from 51 flora-mapping quadrats (CEU), based on 5.395 field collected data records. Some indicator species of the three species groups have been assessed in detail (with the addition of distribution maps of 25 species). I have also tested two East-West direction ‘lines’ (the 100-meter isoline and the Csörsz Ditch) for the possible existence of North-South chorological gradients in the area. True forest species (mostly Querco-Fagetea elements) show a dispersed pattern, their representatives can be linked to forest blocks appearing in the landscape. Streams from the adjacented hilly areas (even if they are strongly modified) are very important in the dispersal of the forest species. Their significance and role are decreasing towards the South. For some steppe and forest steppe species (e.g. Brachypodium pinnatum, Campanula bononiensis, Clematis recta, Elymus hispidus, Lychnis viscaria, Ranunculus illyricus, Sanguisorba minor, Stipa spp., Teucrium chamaedrys, Trifolium alpestre, Vinca herbacea) the examined lines indicate a regional area boundary, while for other species (e.g. Phlomis tuberosa, Thalictrum minus) gradient-like distribution differences were not observed. In the distribution of many species an additional southern gradient running along the northern boundary of the former Heves Floodplain was detected. Southwards to this line, the representatives of the selected species are already very sporadic, occurring only in synantropic habitats (e.g. Vincetoxicum hirundinaria).