Habitat mapping and possibilities for evaluation on environmental management of Vésztő-Mágor Nature Reserve

Habitat mapping was carried out on Vésztő-Mágorpuszta Nature Reserve based on the Hungarian National Habitat Classification System. Habitat codes occurring within habitat patches and short description of each patch are given in parallel with a detailed species list (completed with dominance relations). Based on these, a habitat map of the area and habitat-based thematic maps of sodic areas influenced by water were prepared. The central part of the observed area is diverse and valuable from a botanical point of view, part of the area with complex patches is sodic, in between with sporadic lowland swards and some smaller lowland steppes. Possible reason for abandonment of management on these areas could be the influence of water. Rate of areas with higher dominance of weeds is small

Measuring farmland biodiversity

About one-third of the world’s land surface is used for farming, a fact that bears important implications for biodiversity. In Europe, for instance, an estimated 50 percent of all wild species are reliant on agricultural habitats, while agricultural productivity often depends on the presence or absence of particular species. Despite this close coupling, surprisingly little is known about the status and evolution of farmland biodiversity. A team of European and African researchers, hoping to fill this gap in information, recently invented and piloted a new toolbox called the BioBio indicator set, which measures 23 different instances of biodiversity across a variety of farm types and scales in Europe. Applications were also tested in Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uganda, where they proved a feasible starting point for adaptation to the agricultural context of different countries