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• Impact of land use practices on the ecological nitrogen balance indicators of extensive grassland vegetation

  127-143

  Krisztina Varga

  istván Csízi

  Views:

  149

  The effects of different grassland management practices on plant stand structure were investigated in an experiment at the Karcag Research Institute in 2017–2020, which was set up in 2009. The experimental grassland must comply with Natura 2000, the standards for organic grassland certification and the requirements of the horizontal agri-environmental programme. Support schemes that prioritise ecological considerations predispose to different grassland use patterns in a given grassland production area, a fact that justifies the relevance of this research. The specific objective of this research is to clarify the changes in vegetation structure under the most common grassland management practices in the Central Tisza landscape, based on Borhidi’s N balance, an ecological indicator for the meadow Solonetzic soil type typical of the region. In the experimental site with the medium meadow solonetzic soil type, the following grassland utilisation types were investigated in three replications: zero utilisation, i.e. fallow grassland, mulched grassland, where the phytomass was also not removed after stubble mowing, mowing, which meant removing the main crop once a year, and meadow utilisation, where the grass was grazed by sheep after mowing the main crop. In May of each year, a cenological survey was carried out at the time of flowering of the dominant grassland species and the plant species were classified according to Borhidi's ecological nitrogen balance. The highest grouse diversity was found in meadow grassland, 21 plant species, and the lowest in fallow grassland, 6 species. The obtained result may indicate the effect of the open layer of the unutilised phytomass in generating plant species selection in the plants forming the grassland association. It was found that, by the tenth year of the experiment, a change of control plants occurred in treatments representing mulched and meadow utilisation. The change of Festuca pseudovina to a dominant grassland component in the meadow use suggests grazing of the swards at low stubble height. Despite the accumulation of leafy phytomass, the highest coverage of nitrogen-preferring grassland constituents was not in the zero and mulched treatments left unused, but in the mowing treatments. The obtained result may suggest that Alopecurus pratensis, maintaining its position as a leader plant under mowing and being classified as a Borhidi indicator plant for nutrient-rich sites, determined the outcome. In order to clarify the reproducibility of the experimental results, due to the different soil conditions, it may be justified to carry out studies with a similar orientation in other sites and grassland associations.

• Analysis of agricultural land use of Hungary (2000–2020)

  119-137

  Péter Streb

  János Nagy

  Éva Horváth

  Adrienn Széles

  Views:

  173

  Hungarian agriculture has undergone significant changes between 2000 and 2020. Only 25% of the 965 000 farms active in agriculture in 2000 were in operation in 2020. The number of farms engaged in crop production (273 thousand) has fallen dramatically, by almost half. Within this, fewer farms were engaged in arable crops and plantations and more in horticulture.
  In 2000, there were 2883 crop production organisations and 270 736 individual holdings. In the following years, the number of economic organisations increased and the number of individual farmers decreased significantly. Both for economic organisations and individual holdings, arable crops dominate. However, the share of arable crops was higher in the case of the economic organisations, while horticulture and plantations played an important role in the case of individual farmers.
  The common farm sizes of between 1 and 5 hectares were replaced by medium farm sizes, and these holdings accounted for 57% of the total agricultural area.
  The share of arable land decreased from 83% of the country's area (7.7 million hectares) to 78.7%. The share of agricultural land decreased, the share of domestic forest increased and the share of reed and fish ponds remained substantially unchanged. The share of arable land increased, the share of orchards remained similar, while the share of kitchen gardens, vines and grassland decreased.
  The area sown to wheat and maize is stable (1–1.2 million hectares), but in some years the area sown has fallen below 1 million hectares. The importance of both crops is shown by the fact that, despite fluctuations in area in recent years, a significant proportion of the arable land in Hungary is under wheat (22–23%) and maize (24–26%). The sowing area of sunflower has more than doubled and that of rapeseed has almost tripled. The share of these two oilseeds in the arable crop sector has increased significantly, with sunflower growing from 6.6% in 2000 to 15.2% in 2020 and rapeseed from 2.6% to 7.7%. The area under fruit crops and vines has declined sharply. Vegetables have experienced a similar decline as fruit crops.
  The volume of crops increased steadily, with wheat and maize growing by 41.7% and 71.4% respectively compared with 2000. Sunflowers more than tripled and rapeseed increased almost fivefold. At the same time, weather extremes caused by climate change have become a growing problem in recent years, leading to an increase in the average yield per hectare. It ranged from 2.6 to 5.4 t/ha for wheat, 3.7 to 8.6 t/ha for maize, 1.6 to 3.0 t/ha for sunflower and 1.5 to 3.6 t/ha for rape.

• Analysis of agricultural land use of Hungary (1990–2022)

  109-126

  Ágota Lovász

  János Nagy

  Views:

  197

  In the recent decades, the structure of Hungarian agriculture has undergone significant transformation. Between 1990 and 2022, the number of farms decreased from 1.4 million to 241,000. After the political transition, large-scale collective farms were replaced by small- and medium-sized private holdings; however, later a renewed trend of concentration emerged, especially in arable crop production. By 2022, the share of arable farming rose to 66.8%, while the proportion of horticultural and plantation farms declined.
  In terms of land ownership, medium-sized farms (5–300 hectares) became dominant, while small-scale farming lost ground. The share of large farms also significantly decreased, with land use becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of mid-sized operators.
  The extent of agricultural land has continuously declined, whereas forested areas expanded. The proportion of land withdrawn from cultivation has increased, primarily due to urbanisation and infrastructure development. Kitchen gardens have almost disappeared, and vineyard, orchard, and grassland areas have also shrunk.
  Changes in cropping patterns were shaped by market conditions and climate factors: the cultivated area of cereals – especially wheat and rye – declined, while sunflower and rapeseed production expanded. The area under most vegetable and fruit crops decreased, with only a few newer crops (e.g., broccoli, zucchini) showing growth.
  The average yields of major crops generally improved due to technological advancement. However, climatic extremes – particularly the severe drought of 2022 – caused substantial declines in productivity.