Representatives of the European Commission's Nature Conservation Directorate have arrived in Hungary for a bilateral meeting on the Natura 2000 network. The meeting, which took place on 14-15 February 2024, provided the opportunity to discuss specific nature conservation issues and to present the results of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project.
Based on the experiences of the past years, the staff of the Grassland Conservation Management Advisory Service and the Hortobágy National Park Administration summarized the latest nature conservation knowledge regarding the Hungarian grassland management in their smart calendar, which was published as part of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project.
The Grassland Conservation Management Advisory Service held its two-day meeting in Keszthely. The aim of the programme was to exchange professional experience and evaluate the results achieved so far. In addition to the advisors, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Association of Hungarian Livestock Breeders and The Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture also took part in the meeting.
On 28 November 2023, the fourth installment of The Secrets of Grasslands photo competition was awarded.Exhibition of the 30 best photos was opened at the Herman Ottó Conference Centre.
Grey cattle will once again graze the marsh meadows of the Nagy-rét at Kölked thanks to the Grassland project. In November 2023, the animals arrived at their new home, the recently opened animal husbandry facility of the Danube-Drava National Park Directorate.
Colleagues from the Slovenian Natura LIFE Integrated Project were hosted by the Hungarian Grassland-HU project team. During the three-day meeting, the experts got to know each other's conservation activities, good practices, and the management and funding possibilities of the Natura 2000 network.
With the support of the European Union, Hungarian partner organisations launched the GRASSLAND-HU LIFE Integrated Project to promote the protection and conservation of Hungary’s grasslands and their wildlife. In connection with this, the staff of the Bükk National Park Directorate carried out habitat-management activities in October as part of a volunteer programme.
The Bükk National Park Directorate has dedicated a whole autumn research week to the study of the tiny and extremely rare Hungarian birch mouse in the Borsodi-Mezőség Landscape Protection Area. Besides other research groups, the Bükk Mammal Research Group Association and the Hungarian Museum of Natural History were also involved in the fieldwork research.
Our grassland habitats are not as well known and popular as other ecosystems, but they are just as valuable as our forests and wetlands. Think about it: when we say grassland, most people think of freshly mown lawns in their gardens, but our country is home to such diverse grassland habitats as the Hortobágy salt marshes, the sandy grasslands of the Kishunság, or the marshes of the Őrség, which provide a home or feeding ground for countless species.
Although summer has barely passed, one of the most spectacular events in the world of wildlife, the autumn bird migration, is already well underway. There are species that have already set off during August, but there are also those that are just getting ready for the long journey to their wintering grounds.
The grasslands of the South-Hevesi Regional Unit of the Bükk National Park Directorate are in a beautiful purple colour due to the mass flowering of the Hungarian sea lavender. It could well be the emblematic plant of the Hungarian alkaline grasslands, one of the most characteristic perennial flowering plants of the Tiszántúli steppes, capable of painting the whole horizon purple in summer.
This year two short-toed snake eagle chicks have been fitted with identification rings within the area of the Kiskunság National Park Directorate. This cautious species despite its relatively large body size, builds surprisingly small nests high in pine trees, where finding them is a challenge for experts. Feeding almost exclusively on reptiles, little is known about their ecology and behaviour due to their secretive lifestyle.
A travelling exhibition of the photo competition A gyepek titkai III. can be seen in the Lászlómajor Visitor Centre and Demonstration Garden of the Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate until 28 August 2023.
Another good example of nature conservation, agriculture and wildlife management working together. Domestic grasslands are home of unique natural assets. Many of our wild animal and plant species find their essential living conditions in grasslands, which is why protecting these habitats is a key to their conservation.
We organised a nature conservation volunteer camp at the legendary Szőce bog. More than twenty adult volunteers helped us to preserve one of the most exceptional habitats in Hungary by collecting hay that had been mown on the bog.
It's time for the first mowing. It is important for farmers to bear in mind that in Hungary, the use of animal deterrent chain curtainare required by law when mowing grasslands and arable lands subjects of either Natura 2000 or Agri-Environmental Payments.
This spring, colleagues from the Hortobágy National Park Directorate again visited the sites of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated . The project aims the long-term conservation of Pannonian grasslands and related habitats. After the spring rains, our project areas are beginning to regain their original habitat associations, thanks to various habitat management activities.
Experts are delighted by the glimpses of inland water in the steppe. That's because one of the key condition for the survival of our natural grassland habitats, such as fen meadows, bogs and alkaline habitats, is periodic water cover. The rainfall in recent weeks is promising, however alkaline habitats would need more and longer-lasting surface water.
Although the Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus) are still in their wintering grounds in Africa, we should start preparing for their arrival now. We need to prepare in the same way as we have been doing for the past two decades," say experts from the Bükk National Park Directorate.
In the framework of a volunteer programme, the staff of the Bükk National Park Directorate again carried out grassland management work on the Sulymos plateau in Tiszadorogma. Within the framework of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project mowing was carried out in areas that couldn't be reached by machines and the previously cut false indigo-bush was collected, the Bükk National Park Directorate said.