Are Hungarian Grey Cattle or Hungarian Racka Sheep the Best Choice for the Conservation of Wood-Pasture Habitats in the Pannonian Region?
Károly Penksza,
Dénes Saláta,
Attila Fűrész,
Péter Penksza,
Márta Fuchs,
Ferenc Pajor,
László Sipos,
Eszter Saláta-Falusi,
Zsombor Wagenhoffer,
Szilárd Szentes
Affiliations
Károly Penksza
Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Dénes Saláta
Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Attila Fűrész
Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Péter Penksza
The Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, Fehérvári Str. 89-95, 1119 Budapest, Hungary
Márta Fuchs
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Ferenc Pajor
Institute of Animal Husbandry, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
László Sipos
Department of Postharvest, Commercial and Sensory Science, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Villányi Str. 29-43, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
Eszter Saláta-Falusi
Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Zsombor Wagenhoffer
Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science Department, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, István Str. 2, 1078 Budapest, Hungary
Szilárd Szentes
Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science Department, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, István Str. 2, 1078 Budapest, Hungary
Wood pastures have been characteristic farming types in the Pannonian biogeographical region over the centuries. In the present work, we studied wood-pastures of typical geographical locations in the North Hungarian Mountain Range of Hungary characterized by similar environmental conditions but grazed by different livestock. The sample area of Cserépfalu was grazed by Hungarian Grey Cattle, while the Erdőbénye was grazed by Hungarian Racka Sheep. Coenological records of the sites were collected from 2012 to 2021 in the main vegetation period according to the Braun-Blanquet method with the application of 2 × 2 m sampling quadrats, where the coverage estimated by percentage for each present species was also recorded. To evaluate the state of vegetation, ’ecological ordering’ distribution, diversity, and grassland management values were used. Between the two areas, the grazing pressure of the two studied livestock produced different results. Based on the diversity values, woody–shrubby–grassland mosaic diversity values were high (Shannon diversity: 2.21–2.87). Cattle grazing resulted in a variable and mosaic-like shrubby area with high cover values. Based on our results, grazing by cattle provides an adequate solution for forming and conserving wood-pasture habitats in the studied areas of Hungary. However, if the purpose is to also form valuable grassland with high grassland management values, partly sheep grazing should be suggested.
