HUNGARY GEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES HUNGARY GEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES Edited by MARTON P6CSI GYORGY ENYEDI SANDOR MAROSI Hungary Geographical Studies INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL UNION EUROPEAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE BUDAPEST 1971 f Translotion revised by MARY VOLGYES Title-page designed by L. Ballonyi 704314 MTA KESZ Sokszorosito. F. v.: Szabo Gyula CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Part One . Physical Geography Pecs/, M „ Somogyi, S. and Jakucs, P. Landscape units and their types in Hungary ..................................................................... 11 Bacso, N. The climate of Hungary .......................................... ............................................................... 65 Pecs/', M. and Somogyi. S. The hydrography of Hungary ................................................................................................. 85 Pecsi, M. and Jakucs, P. The natural vegetation of Hungary ........................................................................................ 109 Pecs!, M. and Goczan, L. The soils of Hungary .............................................................................................................. 125 Part two Economic Geography Enyedi, Gy. Regional development of the Hungarian national economy ........................................ 137 Krajkd, Gy. The economic regions of Hungary .......................................................................................... 151 Borai, A. The territorial distribution of energy resources in Hungary ........................................ 163 Antal, 1. and Perczel, Gy. Some economic geographical problems of Hungary’s chemical industry ................ 177 Bernat, T. Regional changes in Hungarian agriculture ..................................................................... 191 Asztalos, I. Regional problems of stock-breeding in Hungary ......................................................... 205 Leltrich, E. Urbanization trends in Hungary .......................................................................................... 221 Gertig, B. The tourist trade in the Balaton resort district ................................................................. 237 ■ ■ ■ . * 7 PREFACE This volume has been compiled in order to give the participants in the 1971 European Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union a brief account of geography of the organizing country and the recent results of Hungarian geographical research. The size of the volume did not allow either the systematic publication of the complete geography of Hungary, nor thematical completeness. In addition, the compilation cannot offer a complete picture of the present state of Hungarian geographical research, as well as the results especially in the field of applied geography. If the reader strives for a more complete knowledge of the results of Hungarian geographical research, we should like to call his attention, on the one hand to the other publications of the Regional Conference — the lectures to be delivered on Hungary; and on the other hand to the follow­ ing publications: Pecsi, M. and Sarfalvi, B. Die Geographie Ungarns (1962); Vengriya (1962); The Geography of Hungary (1962); the volumes of the series, Studies in Gegoraphy in Hungary; the quarterly of the 100- year-old Hungarian Geographical Society (Foldrajzi Kozlemenyek = Geo- graphical Review); the quarterly of the 20-year-old Geographical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Foldrajzi Ertesito — Geo­ graphical Bulletin). In addition, the studies have summaries in English, Russian, French or German. The Hungarian universities also publish geo­ graphical works in foreign languages (Annales Universitatis Scientiarium Budapestiensis de R. Eotvos Nominatae, Sectio Geographica; Acta Uni­ versitatis Debreceniensis de Ludovico Kossuth Nominatae, Series Geogra­ phica, Geologica et Meteorologica; Acta Universitatis Szegediensis, Pars Geographica Scientiarium Naturalium, Acta Geographica). Some of the special books appearing in Hungarian (the series Foldrajzi Monografiak = Geographical Monographs; Foldrajzi Tanulmanyok = Geographical Stud­ ies and the handbooks) also have summaries in foreign languages, or are published in a special series (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography-Abstracts). The related sciences also display a comprehensive activity in the field of publication, partly in foreign languages. The volume giving a compre­ hensive picture of the country not only from geographical point of view, but from historical, social, economic and cultural aspects is the Information Hungary (Erdei, F. ed. 1968). Therefore, we have given only the most 8 important references to the studies published in the volume, leaving to the interest of the reader the degree of getting acquainted with Hungary and the Hungarian geography. We greet the foreign participants in the European Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union. It is our hope that after spending pleasant and useful time in Hungary, and after becoming acquainted with the geographical and social conditions of our contry, our hospitable people, as well as gaining impressions and useful professional experiences, they will return home to their everyday work after the Conference with the desire of meeting us again. PART ONE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 11 LANDSCAPE UNITS AND THEIR TYPES IN HUNGARY M. PECSI - S. SOMOGYI - P. JAKUCS Interpretation and methodology In Hungary neither landscapes totally preserved in their natural conditions, nor original physiography environments can be spoken of. Therefore, it is obvious that the environment-altering effects of society cannot be separated from the concrete investigations of the landscape. Furthermore, so far the real landscape or natural environment affected by the human society has been investigated only from the viewpoint of the physical landscape-forming agents by a considerable part of physical geographers. A landscape unit, explained in such a way, is called a "physiographic landscape” , which implies the reconstruction of the original natural environment. Some physical geographers, — including the authors — consider a landscape to be a unit of the geosphere which is the result of the natural and anthropogenic factors, and kinetic processes affecting one another by continuous mutual alteration. Consequently, it is necessary for physical geography to extend its investigations over the social and economic phenomena acting on the environment. The human activity uses and con­ siderably transforms the physiographic landscape, though in the trans­ formed region the natural elements will not cease acting according to the laws of nature, and the anthropogenic factors will not fail to obey the social laws. This relationship implies, among other things, that the investigators of economic regions also have to scrutinize the physical landscape-forming agents. In the course of research work, a complex approach to the landscape and to its evaluation is necessary for the more progressive economic activity of present time. The research tasks of the two geographical disci­ plines, carried out by different methods, are connected by the common aim to explore the natural and economic potentials of a landscape. Regional Classification of Hungary’s Landscapes Ot the basis of principles of regional classification of landscapes, Hungary has been subdivided into landscape units which due to their related ecological landscape elements can be grouped (M. Pecsi — S. Somogyi, 1967, 1969). This classification has meant improving the earlier classifica­ 12 tion mainly developed by B. Bulla (1962) and S. Lang (1960). In addition, the methodological principles of the classification and demarcation of the landscapes have been developed. A group of ecological facies has been used as a standard for landscape subdivision. These are landscape elements of nearly the same genesis and structure, where water budget, vegetation, soil cover and the type of the economic utilization are essentially homogeneous. For instance. Fig. 7. Physiographic landscapes of Hungary. Classification developed by M. Pecsi and S. Somogyi. Boundaries of some landscapes traced and their names introduced with co-operation of Z. Borsy, Gy. Lovasz, S. Marosi, Z. Pinczes and J. Szilard. — 7. The Creal Plain (Alfold); 7.1. The Danube Riverine; 7.2. Ridge of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve; 7.3. Bacska; 7.4. The Mezofold; 7.5. The Drava Riverine; 7.6. The Upper Tisza Riverine; 7.7. The M iddle Tisza Riverine; 7.8. The Lower Tisza Riverine; 7.9. Alluvial fans of the Northern Great Plain; 7.10. Nyirseg; 7.11. Hajdusag; 7.12. Berettyo-Kdros Riverine; 7.13. The Koros- Maros Interfluve; 2. The Little Plain; 2.1. Gyor Basin; 2.2. Marcal Basin; 2.3. The Gyor- Tata Terraced Plain; 3. West-Hungarian Marginal Region; 3.1. The Subalpine Region; 3.2. Sopron-Vas Plain; 3.3. Kemeneshat; 3.4. Zala Hilly Region; 4. Transdanubian Hilly Region; 4.1. Balaton Basin; 4.2. O uter Somogy; 4.3. Inner Somogy; 4.4. Mecseik Mountains and the Tolna-Baranya Hilly Region; 5. The Transdanubian Mountains; 5.1. Bakony; 5.2. Ver- tes and Velence Mountains; 5.3. Dunazug Mountains; 6. North Hungarian Mountains; 6.1. Mountain Region of the Danube Bend; 6.2. Cserhat M ountains; 6.3. Matra Mountains; 6.4. Biikk Mountains; 6.5. The North Borsod Mountain Region; 6.6. Tokaj-Zemplen Mountains; 6.7. Nograd-Borsod Basin; 1 = boundary of macroregion;