Chapter 13
Suggested Management Measures
for Natura 2000 Habitats in Ko ¨ro ¨s-Maros
National Park, Hungary
A ´ kos Malatinszky, Szilvia A ´ da ´m, Eszter Falusi, De ´nes Sala ´ta,
and Ka ´roly Penksza
13.1 Introduction
Various effects of climate change are among the greatest challenges that Hungarian
agriculture and nature conservation has to face, both currently and in the near future
(Pullin et al. 2009). Considering annual precipitation in Hungary, there has been a
100 % difference between the two consecutive years of 2010 and 2011 (data of the
National Meteorological Service). In Central Europe, wetlands are already seriously affected by weather extremes (Erwin 2009; George 2010; United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe 2009) and, the challenge for agriculture and
nature conservation is – besides assessing vulnerabilities and risks – to develop
policies to adapt so as to achieve sustainability (Perdomo and Hussain 2011). Forty-six
percent of the total grassland areas of Hungary are protected Natura 2000 sites. Over
90 % of these areas need specific forms of management, i.e. grazing, mowing, shrub
removal, or combating weeds. This is why harmonising the aims of agriculture and
nature conservation is highly important. This may be ensured either by national park
directorates (management organised by them or renting state areas with restrictions) or
private owners. Therefore, they are the stakeholders who play a crucial role in wetland
maintenance by proper management. In favour of developing wetland resilience to
climate change, there is an urgent need to develop adaptive management through
stakeholder dialogue at an early stage (Sendzimir et al. 2007; Werners et al. 2010)
to discover user known problems.
It is possible for conservation managers to proactively respond to probable
influences of climate change which threaten habitat integrity and diversity. We
have analysed the changes of habitats caused – with any possibility – by the climate
A ´ . Malatinszky (*) • S. A ´ da ´m • E. Falusi • D. Sala ´ta • K. Penksza
Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management,
Szent Istva ´n University, Pa ´ter K. 1., 2103 Go ¨do ¨llo ˝, Hungary
e-mail: malatinszky.akos@kti.szie.hu; sargabogar@gmail.com; falusi.eszter@kti.szie.hu;
salata.denes@kti.szie.hu; penksza.karoly@kti.szie.hu
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_13, © The Author(s) 2014
197
Suggested Management Measures
for Natura 2000 Habitats in Ko ¨ro ¨s-Maros
National Park, Hungary
A ´ kos Malatinszky, Szilvia A ´ da ´m, Eszter Falusi, De ´nes Sala ´ta,
and Ka ´roly Penksza
13.1 Introduction
Various effects of climate change are among the greatest challenges that Hungarian
agriculture and nature conservation has to face, both currently and in the near future
(Pullin et al. 2009). Considering annual precipitation in Hungary, there has been a
100 % difference between the two consecutive years of 2010 and 2011 (data of the
National Meteorological Service). In Central Europe, wetlands are already seriously affected by weather extremes (Erwin 2009; George 2010; United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe 2009) and, the challenge for agriculture and
nature conservation is – besides assessing vulnerabilities and risks – to develop
policies to adapt so as to achieve sustainability (Perdomo and Hussain 2011). Forty-six
percent of the total grassland areas of Hungary are protected Natura 2000 sites. Over
90 % of these areas need specific forms of management, i.e. grazing, mowing, shrub
removal, or combating weeds. This is why harmonising the aims of agriculture and
nature conservation is highly important. This may be ensured either by national park
directorates (management organised by them or renting state areas with restrictions) or
private owners. Therefore, they are the stakeholders who play a crucial role in wetland
maintenance by proper management. In favour of developing wetland resilience to
climate change, there is an urgent need to develop adaptive management through
stakeholder dialogue at an early stage (Sendzimir et al. 2007; Werners et al. 2010)
to discover user known problems.
It is possible for conservation managers to proactively respond to probable
influences of climate change which threaten habitat integrity and diversity. We
have analysed the changes of habitats caused – with any possibility – by the climate
A ´ . Malatinszky (*) • S. A ´ da ´m • E. Falusi • D. Sala ´ta • K. Penksza
Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management,
Szent Istva ´n University, Pa ´ter K. 1., 2103 Go ¨do ¨llo ˝, Hungary
e-mail: malatinszky.akos@kti.szie.hu; sargabogar@gmail.com; falusi.eszter@kti.szie.hu;
salata.denes@kti.szie.hu; penksza.karoly@kti.szie.hu
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_13, © The Author(s) 2014
197