Flood-plain research at different spatial scales

This paper presents the main philosophy, aims and some preliminary results of the joint Rumanian—Hungarian ecological project carricd out in the terrestrial habitats of River Murc$/Maros flood plains. The studies, scoping different spatial scalcs from the microcosms to the regions, have revealed the specificities of plant communities in very small patches (ant mounds), the role of an ant supercolony in structuring spatial pattern of the whole ant community, the differential effect of exogenous factors on the habitat selection of plant and different invertebrate assemblages, the restricted potential corridor function of the terrestrial habitats along River Mure?/Maros, and the scale-dependence of the faunal and community similarities