Natura 2000 in the Pannonian Region European Commission European Commission Environment Directorate General Author: Kerstin Sundseth, Ecosystems LTD, Brussels Managing editor: Susanne Wegefelt, European Commission, Nature and Biodiversity Unit B2, B-1049 Brussels. Contributor: Judit Sandor Acknowledgements: Our thanks to the European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity and the Catholic University of Leuven, Division SADL for providing the data for the tables and maps in this brochure Graphic design: NatureBureau International Photo credits: Front cover: MAIN Pannonic steppes of Hortobágy © Szilvia Gőri INSETS TOP TO BOTTOM © Zsolt Kalotás, © Daniel Dite, © Josef Hlasek, © Bálint Halpern Back cover: A typical Pannonian landscape. © Zoltán Vajda Additional information on Natura 2000 is available from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature Contents Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union New freephone number (*): The Pannonian Region – a flat plain surrounded by 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 mountains ................................................................................p. 3 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow Natura 2000 species in the Pannonian Region...........p. 5 access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. Map of Natura 2000 sites in the Pannonian Region.................................................................p. 6 Information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu). Natura 2000 habitat types in the Pannonian Region.....................................................................p. 8 Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009 Management issues in the Pannonian Region.........p. 10 . © European Communities, 2009 2009 – 12 pp – 21 x 29.7 cm ISBN 978-92-79-11586-8 DOI 10.2779/79432 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The photos are under copyright, none may be used without prior written approval of the photographers. Printed in Belgium Printed on recycled paper that has been awarded the EU eco-label for graphic paper http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel 2 Natura 2000 in the Pannonian Region a flat plain surrounded by mountains by surrounded plain flat a Puszta landscape in Hortobágy, Hungary © Ronnie Zeiller/4nature Puszta is not only one of the oldest man-made habitats in Europe, having been maintained for centuries by low- The Pannonian key grazing and cultivation, but also one of the largest continuous grasslands left in Europe. Region – a flat plain The Great Hungarian Plain covers three quarters of surrounded by mountains Hungary but equally significant are the smaller Little Hungarian Plain to the west, straddling Slovakia, and the The Pannonian Region is dominated by a large flat alluvial Drava Plain to the south, on the border with Croatia. basin that is transected from north to south by two major rivers – the Danube and Tisza. Once an ancient inland Another key feature of the Pannonian Region is – rather sea, the basin is almost completely enclosed on all sides surprisingly – water. The surrounding hills and mountains by low-lying hills and mountains. To the north and east are an important source of water for this otherwise arid. lie the Carpathians, to the west the Alps and, to the south, In the past, vast areas within the basin were also regularly the Dinarics. flooded by the slow moving Tisza and Danube rivers with their intricate network of tributaries. Thanks to these rivers, All of Hungary is included in the Pannonian Region as water permeated across much of flat terrain, creating are peripheral areas of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and shallow patches of ephemeral marshes and lakes that are Romania within the EU, as well as Serbia, Croatia and the no more than a few centimetres deep in places. Ukraine outside the EU. As the water ebbed and flowed, huge deposits of The sheltered position of the region beneath the sand, silt and mineral-rich loess were left behind. With mountains has had a significant impact on biodiversity time, these fine particles were eventually blown over long here. It has also influenced the climate. Wet weather distances by the prevailing easterly winds to form coming in from the west is tempered by drier an intricate mosaic of different habitats, such as inland warmer winds rising up from the Mediterranean and sand dunes, sand steppes, loess grasslands and maple-oak cooler temperatures coming from the Carpathians and loess forests. Alps nearby. The hills that encircle the flat plains add considerably As a result of these complex weather patterns, the to this already complex biodiversity. They exert a major Pannonian Region exhibits a mosaic vegetation structure influence on species dispersal and migration. Many have, instead of the more classic zonal arrangements that one over time, evolved into endemic species that are unique sees in other biogeographical regions. The conflicting to the region. The hills also still harbour important tracts climatic influences also account for the dramatic forests and dry grasslands which provide a very different thunderstorms that sometimes build up over the plains at range of species than is found in the Plains. various times of the year. In the north, the hills merge with the Carpathians to form At one time the basin was covered in large tracts of oak- a typical karst landscape. Aggtelek, Slovensky Kras and dominated thermophilous forests and forest steppes Moravsky Kras are prime examples. Beneath their surface but, over centuries, these were gradually cut down to a massive subterranean labyrinth of caves, underground make way for extensive grasslands which stretch out as rivers and aquifers carves its way through the porous far as the eye can see across the flat plains. This so called limestone rocks. It too harbours its own unique wildlife. Natura 2000 in the Pannonian Region 3 With such a wealth of diverse and contrasting habitats, it % of EU is no surprise that the Pannonian Region has a particularly Region Countries involved territory high level of species diversity, with many endemics. The Atlantic Belgium, Germany, Denmark, 18.4 region is also of major importance for birds. Hundreds Spain, France, Ireland, Portugal, of thousands of geese, ducks and other waders flock Netherlands, United Kingdom to the shallow wetlands every year. Amongst them are Boreal Estonia, Finland, Latvia, 18.8 rare species like the lesser white-fronted goose Anser Lithuania, Sweden erythropus and the spoonbill Platalea leucorodia. Continental Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech 29.3 Republic, Germany, Denmark, For thousands of years, the Pannonian Region has been France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia heavily influenced by humans. Today over 60% of the land has been converted to arable lands. At first, grazing Alpine Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, 8.6 and farming was done in a relatively sustainable way Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, across large parts of the Puszta. But more recently, drastic Slovakia changes were made which destroyed many of the semi- Pannonian Czech Republic, Hungary, 3.0 natural and natural habitats. Romania, Slovakia Steppic Romania 0.9 Large-scale canalization and land reclamation schemes were launched at the end of the 19th Century which Black Sea Bulgaria, Romania 0.3 a flat plain surrounded by mountains by surrounded plain flat a resulted in substantial areas of floodplains and the Mediterranian Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, 20.6 Italy, Malta, Portugal Puszta being carved up and drained to make way for arable crops and fast growing alien trees like the false Macaronesian Spain, Portugal 0.2 acacia Robinia pseudoacacia. Source: European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (European Environment Agency) http://biodiversity.eionet.europa.eu October 2008 4 Natura 2000 in the Pannonian Region Natura 2000 species in the Pannonian gy National Park Archives Park gy National Region á Despite covering just 3% of the EU territory, the Pannonian Region harbours 118 species of animals and 46 species © HortobPhoto of plants listed in the Habitats Directive, as well as around 70 birds listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The high number is not only a reflection of the high level of biodiversity in this small region, but also of the fragility and restricted distribution of some of the species, especially those that are endemic to the region. Red footed falcon Falco vespertinus They include endemic plants like the sand saffronColchicum The red footed falcon is a typical species of the steppe and arenarium, the dimunitive pink carnation Dianthus diutinus, forest-steppe zones. It occurs in relatively warm and open the Hungarian pasqueflowerPulsatilla pratensis ssp. habitats, for example grasslands and meadows interspersed 2000 species Natura hungarica and the Torna goldendrop Onosma tornensis as with copses, scattered trees and gallery forests which are used for nesting. Its main diet consists of grasshoppers, well as animals like the Hungarian meadow viper Vipera beetles, dragonflies, termites and the occasional small ursinii ssp. rakosiensis, the snail Sadleriana pannonica mammal. The birds do not build nests themselves but and the translucent Aggtelek cave shrimp Niphargus tend instead to occupy old or unused corvid nests, mainly aggtelekiensis, which, as its name suggests, is only found in in rookeries. Being a gregarious species, colonies can the underground caves of Aggtelek and Slovensky kras on sometimes