New Habitat Data of the Green-Winged Orchid (Anacamptis Morio L.) Located in the Surroundings of Eger, Hungary: Further Data on this Protected Species of the Foothills of the Bükk Mountains

In 2022, we identified two new habitats of the protected green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio L.) in the Bükk Mountains, in the surroundings of the city of Eger. One of the habitats is in the southwestern steppe meadow of the protected Nagy Eged Hill, while the other one is on a private plot near the village of Szarvaskő. A total of 18 blooming individuals were counted in the two sites. In the lower part of the steppe, at the foot of the protected Nagy-Eged Hill (47°97'56"N and 20°34'51"E), we found one well-developed green-winged orchid already in its flowering stage. It stood out with its smaller size and different flower colour from the lady orchids (Orchis purpurea HUDS.) widespread on the slopes of the mountain. Unfortunately, no other roots were found during our survey. The blooming flowers that make up the inflorescence were of the most common dark purple-red color. At the other site, further 17 individuals of the green-winged orchid were identified in a private garden (3,500 m2) in the outskirts of the village of Szarvaskő (47°92'02"N and 20°40'58"E). Most of the garden is covered by regularly mowed lawn. All of the detected orchids were in bloom and appeared scattered throughout the plot. Five larger plants grew at a great distance from one another, while 12 small ones (height: ≤10 cm) developed in a bunch. We had been aware of the presence of the protected orchid species on the plot since 2017, but before 2022 only a maximum of 3 flowering individuals appeared in one specific area of the plot each year. Floristic papers have not reported the occurrence of this species either in Nagy-Eged or in Szarvaskő so far

UNDERSTORY CONDITION IN AN OAK FOREST AFTER 4 DECADES FOR OAK DECLINE IN HUNGARY

Abstract: At the study area serious oak decline was detected from 1979-80 in a mixed oak forest, an area covered by a sessile oak–Turkey oak forest (Quercetum petraeae-cerridis). The shrub community was divided into low (lower than 1.0 m in height) and high shrub layer (≥ 1.0 m). The goals of this study were to determine the conditions of shrub layer and analyse the possible changes in the shrub layer after 4 decades of the serious oak decline. In 2017, 17 shrub species were continuously observed in the understory. The density of shrub layer was 25,103 specimens ha-1. The significant part of shrubs lived (91.6%) in the low shrub layer, with only a small part of them (8.4%) forming the high shrub layer. The most common species of the shrub community was Euonymus verrucosus with 1989 shoots in the monitoring plot. The mean height and mean diameter of the high shrub species changed between 1.29-8.74 m and between 0.81-9.61 cm. The mean cover of the high shrub species changed between 0.56 m2 and 12.67 m2. Our results suggest that three woody species, Acer campestre, Acer tataricum and Cornus mas responded successfully to the oak decline

New Habitat Data of the Green-Winged Orchid (<i>Anacamptis Morio</i> L.) Located in the Surroundings of Eger, Hungary

In 2022, we identified two new habitats of the protected green-winged orchid (Anacamptis mori