Our new review paper about the challenges and opportunities of grassland restoration on roadsides

In our latest article, we look at a special case of grassland habitat restoration: roadside verges.

Valkó, O., Fekete, R., Molnár V., A., Halassy, M., Deák, B. (2023): Roadside grassland restoration: Challenges and opportunities in the UN decade on ecosystem restoration. Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health 34:100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2023.100490

The article is open access and can be downloaded from the journal homepage.

Why is grassland restoration important on roadsides? The global road network is more than 64 million km long and growing, with road verges occupying nearly 1% of the land area of developed countries. These are vast areas that are generally not suitable for industrial, agricultural, or other uses, and can provide opportunities for habitat restoration and establishing ecological corridors. The ideal situation for road managers is to establish a low-input, low-maintenance, permanent vegetation adapted to the habitat conditions on the roadside. In many biogeographical regions, roadside verges can provide suitable habitat for drought-tolerant grassland species native to the region, so a well-designed grassland restoration can be an ideal solution from both a conservation and a road management perspective. In the article, we highlight the synergies between these two approaches and the opportunities and constraints of grassland restoration in roadsides with native species. The specific habitat conditions of roadside verges and how grassland restoration on roadside verges differs from other grassland management interventions are discussed. We compare the success of seeding with commonly used commercial seed mixtures and with seed mixtures of native species, and suggest criteria for the selection of appropriate plant species, as well as key research areas to be investigated in the future.

Special characteristics of roadside environments. Photo credits: Attila  Molnár V. (A-G), Szabolcs Kis (H) and Réka Fekete (I)

Abstract

Restoring near-natural grasslands on roadsides is an excellent opportunity to support native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services that benefit the safety and functionality of road networks. Although several best practices and case studies are available on biodiversity-friendly roadside revegetation measures, their application is quite scarce, and, in practice, ecological aspects are rarely considered. To restore and preserve diverse and native roadside vegetation, we suggest (1) facilitating discussion, cooperation, and knowledge transfer between ecologists and agencies responsible for roadside vegetation management, (2) prioritizing the use of native plant species in roadside restoration and revegetation, as well as increasing regional capacities for native seed production, (3) supporting the application of biodiversity-friendly management practices of roadside vegetation, and (4) inventorying and conserving remnant semi-natural roadside grasslands.

 

Owl-mediated secondary seed dispersal: Our new paper in GECCO

Our new paper by Laura Godó & Sándor Borza et al. about owl-mediated secondary seed dispersal has recently been published in GECCO.

Godó, L. & Borza, S., Valkó, O., Rádai, Z., Deák, B. (2023): Owl-mediated diploendozoochorous seed dispersal increases dispersal distance and supports seedling establishment. Global Ecology and Conservation 45: e02519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02519  [IF2021: 3.969] 

The paper is open acccess and can be freely downloaded from the journal homepage (please click here).

We studied a very interesting dispersal system: we studied the seed content and the prey items in the pellets of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and evaluated the effect of the pellet material on the establishment.

Abstract

Seed dispersal is an essential process contributing to the maintenance of plant populations. Zoochory is a widespread way of plant dispersal in every terrestrial ecosystem that can ensure the long-distance dispersal of seeds. Secondary seed dispersal (SSD) by far-ranging raptors is a special type of zoochory, which might have a role in colonizing new habitats. We used the barn owl (Tyto alba) as model species to test the effectivity and seasonality of SSD in open semi-natural landscapes. We collected 582 pellets from six sites in East-Hungary throughout one year. We identified prey items in the pellets and determined the viable seed content of the pellets by germination experiments. We found that herbivorous Microtus arvalis L. was the most abundant prey item through which most of the seeds spread. Owls dispersed the seeds of generalist and disturbancetolerant plants, indicating the habitat type where small mammals occur abundantly. In another experiment we tested the effect of the pellet material on the seedling survival and found that prey remains enhanced establishment of seedlings. Our study suggests that SSD by barn owl is occasional but important event in long-distance seed dispersal. Since the studied owl species uses several habitat types and has larger mobility than the rodents, the revealed dispersal mechanism can considerably increase seed dispersal distance and seed exchange between habitat types.

Toponym diversity can support vegetation naturalness: Our new paper in People and Nature

Our new paper about the connections between cultural diversity and vegetation naturalness has recently been accepted in People and Nature.

Valkó, O., & Bede, Á., Rádai, Z., Deák, B. (2023): ‘Sense of place’ and conservation: Toponym diversity helps to maintain vegetation naturalness. People and Nature https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10476 [IF2021: 7.500]

The paper is open access and freely available on the journal homepage (please click here).

 Giving a name is a fundamental way of recognizing and identifying a place. Place names (toponyms) are an important part of cultural diversity and reflect the cultural importance of a place. Little is known about whether the diversity of toponyms (ie the number of names given to a specific place) has an influence on human-nature relationships and the decisions of humans on how to use certain parts of the landscape. To investigate this question, we combined approaches from social sciences and ecology in a comprehensive multidisciplinary survey of 1,521 cultural landscape features in Hungary.

The landscape features studied were ancient millennia-old burial earthen mounds built by nomadic steppic tribes. Today the mounds often hold the last remnants of grassland vegetation and provide safe havens for grassland specialist plant and animal species in the intensively used agricultural landscapes of Eurasia. In our research, we compiled a comprehensive database of the mounds in the 5,150 km2-sized study region and by using various written sources, we collected all toponyms of the mounds recorded since the 18th century. We also visited all the mounds in a field survey and evaluated the naturalness degree of their vegetation, which ranged from favorable (covered by grasslands of high conservation value) to degraded (covered by degraded non-crop vegetation), transformed (ploughed), and destroyed.

We found that despite the intensive landscape transformation in the region, and independently of topographical factors (ie height of the mound, distance from the nearest settlement), a higher number of toponyms per mound was associated with a higher degree of naturalness of the vegetation. This result is especially interesting, as in the studied intensively used agricultural landscape, cultural recognition of the mounds has eroded considerably in the past centuries, but its effect is still noticeable. We believe that revitalizing public recognition of place names could enable effective and meaningful communication about cultural ties to particular landscape elements. In a broader sense, our results highlight that reestablishment of the lost cultural connections between people and nature can contribute to reversing the deterioration.

Ludas-halom mound had the highest number of toponyms - as many as twenty! Photo: Ádám Bede.

Public outreach program about invasive species in Vácrátót

On 13 May, the Centre for Ecological Research organised this year's first Garden on the Cube event, in which our research team was actively involved.

 

The event was linked to the research of the Invasion Biology Division of the National Laboratory for Health Security, and presented the importance and results of this research program in an interactive format. 

 

As usual, it was a great experience to participate :)

 

Conference organization: the 18th Eurasian Grassland Conference

It is our pleasure to announce that our research group organizes the 18th Eurasian Grassland Conference in Szarvas, Hungary.

The registration is now open at https://www.egc2023.hu/.

The four-day-long conference (25-28 September 2023) will be followed by an optional post-conference excursion (29 September – 1 October 2023).

Key dates:

Deadline for IAVS travel grant application: 31 May  2023
Deadline for registration: 30 June 2023
Deadline for abstract submission: 30 June 2023

All details can be found on the homepage (https://www.egc2023.hu/).

The conference is organized by Balázs Deák, Orsolya Valkó and András Kelemen and our research group (Centre for Ecological Research) and the Körös-Maros National Park Directorate. The organizers are looking forward to meeting many EDGG members in the interesting scientific sessions and show the flora, fauna, natural beauties and conservation challenges related to the diverse grassland habitats of the Hungarian Great Plain during the mid-conference and post-conference excursions.

Any questions related to the conference can be addressed to the organizers (organizers.egc2023@gmail.com).

The local organizing committee in a group meeting in Szarvas.

Understanding the attitude and habits of drivers can help mitigating animal-vehicle collisions - Our new paper in Journal of Environmental Management

Our new paper by Sándor Borza and Laura Godó has recently been accepted in Journal of Environmental Management. 

Borza, S. & Godó, L., Valkó, O., Végvári, Z., Deák B. (2023): Better safe than sorry – Understanding the attitude and habits of drivers can help mitigating animal-vehicle collisions. Journal of Environmental Management 339: 117917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117917 [IF2021: 8.910]

The paper is open access and can be downloaded freely from here.

One of the most important ecological impacts of roads is the fragmentation of natural habitats, which makes collisions with vehicles a significant threat to wildlife. The aim of our research was to understand the human factors behind animal-vehicle collisions through a large sample questionnaire survey. A total of 2,123 people completed the questionnaire, which is an outstanding number. Our results show that almost half of all drivers have had at least one collision with an animal. The graphical abstract below summarises the main message of the article.

The graph shows how many animals from each group respondents have hit in their lifetime. The colours mean: green - not hit; grey - can't remember if hit; yellow - hit once; red - hit more than once. It can be seen that there is a significant proportion of grey area for reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals, meaning that many people did not remember or were not sure whether they had hit an animal in that category. This is because members of these groups are small, move at ground level and often move at night, even in rainy weather. These all make detection difficult. Furthermore, because they do not pose a serious road safety risk or cause damage to the vehicle, they are more forgettable when hit, as opposed to, for example, a songbird loudly hitting the windscreen or a pet animal that may be more memorable if hit because of the emotional attachment.

We found that male drivers, those who drive long distances per year, and those who use secondary roads most often and drive large vehicles such as buses or trucks, are more likely to be involved in collisions with animals during their lifetime. Previous studies have shown that men and women drive differently and have very different attitudes to rules and restrictions in many ways, which affects the number of accidents, including animal-vehicle collisions. Unfortunately, it can be said that if you travel a lot, sooner or later you will hit an animal. With regard to road types, while primary roads are mostly protected by fences and  wildlife crossings, this is not the case for secondary roads. However, it is worth noting that fences do not provide 100% protection, but can give people a false sense of security. Even on sections protected by fences, you should always be aware of animals wandering onto the road! In addition to having a larger impact surface, large vehicles are much less manoeuvrable safely to avoid a collision. These two factors together significantly increase the likelihood of an animal being hit.

Drivers' attitudes towards the importance of nature conservation and road safety in relation to animal-vehicle collisions were significantly influenced by whether they had ever been involved in a hit-and-run accident in their lives. Our results showed that people were sensitised by the sight of animals being hit and felt it was important to reduce the number of hits. A very large number of drivers, 797 in total, wrote a list of things they thought were useful in preventing collisions in their own words. Most of them suggested the installation of physical protection (fences and wildlife barriers).

A practical tip: if it is impossible to avoid a collision, the safest thing to do is to brake and keep the vehicle straight, rather than catching the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the natural avoidance mechanism makes this difficult to do, but it is not impossible and it makes a big difference to get out of the incident unscathed.

Zólyomi Award to Hungarian vegetation ecologists

On the ceremony of the 'Zólyomi Bálintné Barna Piroska' award, excellent Hungarian vegetation ecologists received recognition at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, on 14th March. This years awardees were Balázs Deák, Attila Takács, and Csaba Tölgyesi. Congratulations to all of them!

The awardees: Attila Takács, Balázs Deák, Csaba Tölgyesi