Forests of the Eastern Kisalföld: land-use history and vegetation

Abstract

The study’s aim was to research the interrelation between the land-use history and the vegetation in the natural forest’s of the eastern part of the Kisalföld. The studied area was almost entirely deforested in the late 18th century. The old maps show only a few woodlands.
At the beginning of the 21^th century most of them disappeared or transformed to adventive plantations (black locust, pine, cultivated poplar). Only two small area remain: Karabuka-erdő (riverine oak-elm-ash wood- land) and Haraszt-erdő (turkey oak woodland). The previous land-use transformed and degraded these forests. In the last two centuries some native (oak dominated) forest were planted. It is interesting that some of these planted forests have rich vegetation and seem to be more natural than the not planted ones. It thanks to the human activity and the antropochor spreading of many species. Some of them were planted, but most of them comes with the planted trees, because the seeds hidden in their soil. The research shows that many species which seem to be relict come here by human activity in the last two ceturies. That is beech which is non-native on the studied area.