PARENT SESSION
Poster Session: Human Influences on Landscape and Hydrological Processes

Sustainable land use preserving botanical heritage in North-East Hungary. ^*MALATINSZKY, ÁKOS , ¹ Szent István University, Gödöllő, Hungary, Hungary

ABSTRACT- Studied area is Borsod Hills in the Northern Hungarian Mountains. Traditional land use methods are observed on the basis of habitats that were maintained in a close-to-natural state and floristical data unique for a bigger area. Valuable plant taxa may be preserved for the future generations only within their original habitats, sustaining the management patterns used through hundreds of years. Ancient agricultural activities on diverse habitats resulted in specially structured landscape mosaics. Besides biological and landscape diversity, adequate cultivation structure is important also in favour of preserving soil fertility and avoiding erosion. Regularly mowed wet meadows along the streams maintained large sedge communities with Carex cespitosa and Carex buekii, tall herb fringe communities with Inula helenium, molinia meadows and lowland hay meadows with Iris sibirica, Orchis laxiflora subsp. elegans, Dactylorhiza incarnata, Eriophorum angustifolium and Eriophorum latifolium. Pastures (grazed by sheep) with Juniperus communis formations on calcareous grasslands ensure a picturesque landscape view. Nature protected species of the pastures are Ornithogalum pyramidale, Platanthera bifolia and Orchis morio. Extensively cultivated (and partly abandoned) orchards (and, sometimes, grapeyards) preserved several old traditional fruit breeds that are very adaptive, resistant against diseases, therefore they do not need any serious cultivation, and can become the main stocks for ecological management and bio-production in the near future. Lawns of these orchards were and in many places still are mowed regularly. Nature protected species found in them are Clematis integrifolia, Prunus fruticosa, Dictamnus albus, Polygala major, Linum tenuifolium, Orchis tridentata, Orchis purpurea and Stipa dasyphylla.

KEY WORDS: landscape history, sustainable land use, natural habitats, nature protected plant species