Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services
The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.
Drastic changes in land use have occurred since the political regime change in the late 1980s and accession to the EU in 2004. Many arable lands and other agricultural areas have been abandoned, over-grazing has stopped and agricultural intensification (use of chemicals) has decreased. Although these changes have favoured agrobiodiversity, traditional land use forms have disappeared. Large-scale vegetation mapping conducted between 2003 and 2006 indicates that only 3.2-9.8% of Hungary’s natural capital of former times remains, with forest area having increased primarily as a result of plantations. Forest area at the moment comprises 20.3% of the country’s territory, with the ratio of indigenous tree stocks exceeding 57% of this area, while non-native species (black locust, red oak, pine) trees grow on 23% of the country’s territory and poplar clones on 6.9%. According to a scientific estimate, 37% of the forests are considered semi-natural. Almost two-thirds (63.5%) of forests have an economic function primarily, while 35.2% have protective functions, with the remaining forests (1.3%) performing healthcare, tourism, education and research functions. As a result of alignment with EU legislation on protected areas, the total amount of territory under protection increased from 9.4% (national legislation) to 22% (national and EU legislation combined), slightly exceeding the EU average.
More than 53,000 described species occur in Hungary, 82% of which are animals, with 3% of the total number of species protected under national law. Since 2003, the number of protected species has grown by 6%. Forty-six endangered habitat types listed in the EU Habitats Directive occur in Hungary. An assessment conducted between 2001 and 2006 listed the conservation status of 67% of these habitats as bad, 20% as inadequate and 11% as favorable. Seventeen per cent of the 520 species in Hungary, evaluated in 2008 for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, were found to be somehow endangered at the global level. All vascular plant species, evaluated in 2007 for the Hungarian Red List, revealed that the percentage of endangered species at some levels is 27.5% and that, between 1989 and 2007, these numbers increased by 30% (69% of these species are protected by national law). Regular monitoring of 211 animal and plant species of European importance has revealed the following trend: 11% of these populations are increasing, 22% are stable and 32% are decreasing.
Grasslands cover 10.8% of the country’s territory and are of great conservation importance within Europe, with 73% of the total grasslands area included in the Natura 2000 network. Hungarian grasslands are often more diverse than in many other countries. Most of them are secondary grasslands. Grasslands are relatively fragile and can only withstand extensive grazing. In Hungary, the number of grazing animals has decreased dramatically and distribution between grazing species has also changed. A strictly protected grassland species with high conservation value is the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) which occurs only in Hungary. It is the most endangered member of Hungarian vertebrate fauna of recent times. Through a captive breeding program at the Hungarian Meadow Viper Conservation Centre, these animals are reproducing successfully for the fifth consecutive year and reintroduction will start in the near future.
The most intact areas are forested mountains and the most degraded ones are agricultural lowlands. The least endangered habitat types are rocky habitats, certain halophytic and aquatic habitats, open acidophilous woodlands, dry shrub vegetation with Crataegus and Prunus spinosa and beech woodlands. The most seriously endangered habitats are sand and loess steppe oak woodlands, tussock sedge communities, extensive orchards, closed lowland oak woodlands, water-fringing and fen tall herb communities, wooded pastures, vegetation of loess cliffs, rich fens and Molinia meadows, Cynosurion grasslands and Nardus swards, swamp woodlands, xeromesophilous grasslands and salt steppe oak woodlands.
Common bird populations on agricultural habitats are stable. Forest bird populations show great fluctuations with no apparent long-term trend. Population trends of long-distance migratory birds show declining tendencies most frequently, in contrast with more stable resident, partly-migratory and short-term migratory species. A positive trend is exemplified by the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) which has almost doubled in population in Hungary since the early 1990s. Another positive trend is revealed by the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) species whose population of 20 breeding pairs has increased to more than 90 since the 1980s and continues to increase. Another positive trend is revealed from the ten-year monitoring of 2 species of large carnivores (wolf and lynx) that now have permanent but peripheral populations in Hungary. The wolf was previously thought to be extinct. Cooperation with Slovakia has enabled this conservation success along with studies on the genetics of these 2 species. The strictly protected root vole (Microtus oeconomus), the rarest vole species in Hungary, has received special attention in terms of monitoring. Of its three isolated populations, 2 in the Szigetköz and Tóköz-Hanság regions have demonstrated a gradation peak and a later decline, while the other population in the Kis-Balaton region, cannot be found any longer.
Of 876 natural and 150 artificial water bodies identified in Hungary, 579 freshwater surface bodies (56%) have been classified as being “at risk” from organic, nutrient or priority hazardous substances (according to the EU Water Framework Directive definitions). Approximately 70% of artificial lakes (mainly fishponds) are “at risk” due to organic and nutrient loads. None of the 108 groundwater bodies identified are considered to be “at risk” due to human intervention however 46 sites are listed as “possibly at risk” (due mostly to nitrate pollution from various sources).
In terms of land use, 62.4% of the country is agricultural, demonstrating the importance of this sector to the national economy. The percentage of the total area under agriculture is outstandingly high in comparison to the rest of Europe. Organic farming comprises 1.3% of Hungary’s territory, a sector which more than doubled between 2000 and 2004 but has since stagnated.
Hungary belongs to a secondary centre of crop diversity, where high diversity of local types and landraces developed. The natural flora is an especially rich source of wild fruits, medicinal plants (including diverse chemotaxa), forage grasses and legumes, and some crop wild relatives (Aegilops, Lactuca, Daucus, Secale, Vitis, Prunus, Pyrus, etc.). Ninety gene banks are involved in the conservation of approximately 150,000 accessions of plant and micro-organism genetic resources. According to FAO data, Hungary’s main crop gene bank, the Research Centre for Agrobotany at Tápiószele, is among the world’s 15 largest national gene bank collections. Between 1996 and 2007, the number of registered cultivars almost doubled in spite of a slight decrease in the number of taxa.
Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)
The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.
The most significant threats to biodiversity in the country are due to human activity. They include trends related to economic development and the pressures placed on ecosystems, invasive alien species, habitat fragmentation and climate change. Results of monitoring between 2003 and 2006 determined that 5.5% of the country is covered by perennial alien species. Threats to forest biodiversity include the proportion of clear-cutting in private and protected stands, dead wood removal from the forests, overpopulation of game animals in certain areas, spread of alien tree species and conservation measures that are difficult to implement in regard to certain privately-owned forests. The country is also particularly exposed to negative transboundary environmental impacts due to the geographical characteristics of the Carpathian basin which receives 95% of its surface water from abroad.
Other threats to inland biodiversity include: habitat loss resulting from the conversion of waterbed and shoreline which occurred mainly in the past, inadequate water supply and non-natural water dynamics resulting from the uncontrolled use of surface and underground water resources, as well as problems arising from certain water power plants. The water quality of big rivers remains acceptable while the status of some rivers has improved. The status of small bodies of water is more unfavourable as, in some cases, their loading of pollutants is higher than their capacity for self-cleaning. The water quality of big lakes is fair. The ecological condition of the big lakes (Balaton, Velencei and Ferti) has been improved due to smaller nutrient loads as a result of the drastic drop in the use of fertilizers, as well as due to governmental measures and environmental investment programmes that have been undertaken. For other lakes, the eutrophication rate has generally been decreasing, but threat still remains. Notably, the water quality of Lake Balaton is excellent as a result of a comprehensive water-quality protection strategy and connected investments which diminished the pollution load of the lake by almost 50%.
Cheap international transportation of agricultural products affects national production as the prices of agricultural products from other distant countries are often lower than the prices of nationally-cultivated products. The diversity of fruit and vegetables accessible at the markets and supermarkets has decreased. Several traditional varieties are not cultivated due to economic reasons and lack of knowledge about their cultivation.
Pannonian salt steppes and salt marshes occur only in a few EU countries, with the largest surface area and centre of distribution of this habitat type located in Hungary. Compared with other salt lakes and marshes of the world, the alkaline lakes of the Carpathian Basin are characterised by lower salt content but higher alkalinity and, due to limited geographical distribution, belong to the most threatened European communities. These habitats support exceptionally rich fauna and flora and several endemic species. Many Pannonian salt steppes and salt marshes have been totally destroyed for agricultural purposes. Ploughing for agriculture is still a major threat. The remaining communities are also threatened by eutrophication, inadequate management (including water management). Other difficulties include removal of perverse incentives and legislation supporting the cultivation of regularly flooded areas.
