No abstract

Field surveys are essential in the Hungarian motorway planning process so that it would be possible to assess their impacts on the landscape, since the available databases are insufficient in respect of listing all the valuable elements of the landscape. The aims of the research are to analyse the impacts of the planned M30 Motorway (located in north-eastern Hungary) on the landscape, to enumerate the cultural and natural valuable elements of the landscape near and within the area to be expropriated, to explore the possibilities of their protection and to outline the possible land use conflicts likely to arise after the implementation of the motorway. The main sources used for the research were: landscape, green space management and environmental protection studies made for the modification of the affected settlements’ urban plans, field surveys alongside the entire track, and existing environmental databases. In the case of M30 motorway, the chosen corridor was mostly acceptable in the sections where the motorway track leads along the track of the existing Main Road 3, because it is fitted to an existing linear artificial landscape element, it is basically on the border of two natural micro-regions and can also fit into the existing land use structure. Nevertheless, it is not considered to be the best choice in places where it separates vineyards from vine cellars, where it is located within 50 meters from residential areas or where it passes through small plot vineyards or horticultural areas instead of the arable lands of the nearby plain.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of restoration of a stream section. The starting point of the multiple-step assessment process was a historical analysis, which resulted in the definition of different sections within the study area, providing a base for the further restoration goals. The assessment of the current conditions was elaborated particularly to determine those factors, which could limit restoration. These assessments cover the land use pattern, furthermore the analysis of vegetation and habitat patches. As a result of the historical analysis, it has been found that the stream side habitat patches have decreased significantly despite the constant space available. This change was not caused by the increased area of the settlement, but rather by the higher dominancy of arable forms of land use. The greatest share of wet and mesic meadows and agricultural habitats in the study areas, covering 57.5% of the total area, indicates significant anthropogenic effects. Consequently it can be stated that the reference conditions are not the only determining factors of the restoration possibilities. Restoration style and intensity have been defined on basis of all assessed factors.

The aim of this study is to conclude the experiences of the maintenance practice of an artificial thermal lake. The first years (2015-2017) of the development of the lake were analysed and evaluated along the following questions: a) What kind of design processes and maintenance interventions are related to the process of fitting the lake into the landscape? b) How have the ecological conditions of the lake evolved in the past period (zonation, succession, plantation and colonization)? c) Which general experiences could be gained from the operation of this artificial thermal lake this far? The authors of the present study were already engaged in the planning process, participating in the preparation of four different design documentations. The planting design and the maintenance instructions were based on a physico-chemical monitoring, phytoplankton, zooplankton and macroinvertebrate sampling, and machrophyte assessment. The significant processes during the three years of the lake are presented by functional groups of biota, separately assessing the characteristics of the changes of macrophytes. In 2017 an individual macroinvertebrate assessment was done, moreover a fish die-off occurred in August 2017, which are mentioned separately as well. The data in total suggested that the water of the lake is highly hypertrophic, further machrophyte introduction can prevent the plant nutriments to be absorbed by algae. Partly the algal growth but also the unlucky coincidence of other factors (e.g. high water temperature, cold weather front, maintenance problems) led to the die-off of the spontaneously overpopulated fish stock in 2017.