Author Archives: zolka

Sheep grazing has returned to the Miklapuszta project area after several decades. Currently, around 200 Grey Cattle and 500 sheep are roaming the landscape, effectively implementing habitat management in the protected area. Once upon a time, 2000 to 2500 sheep grazed in Miklapuszta. As livestock farming declined, sheep-grazing gradually disappeared from the core project area, where a grassy steppe vegetation has established and several undesirable plant species (Common Reed, Russian Olive, Common Milkweed) have proliferated. Livestock control these plants by their grazing and trampling, and their manure provides nutrients to the native vegetation and for the development of arthropod larvae, which can provide food for insectivorous birds, particularly to two target species of the project, the Eurasian Stone Curlew and the Kentish Plover. Grass kept short by grazing animals are preferred breeding habitats for these birds.

One of the target species of the project is the Kentish Plover, a small shorebird of outstanding conservation value not only in the area, but in Hungary as a whole. Its population varies a lot between 0 and 20 pairs in Hungary. The bird can be observed on bare alkali surfaces, alkali lakes and beaches. The disappearance, drying and sedimentation of alkali lakes in Hungary have negative impacts on the species. Grazing with sheep is very important for its conservation. Grazing animals reduce vegetation and the insects that develop in their dung provide food for birds. The nest of the Kentish Plover is a scrape in the ground in which they usually lay 3 eggs.

The “Miklapuszta” landscape unit of Kiskunság National Park is located in the centre of the country, in Bács-Kiskun County. It is a nationally protected natural area, covering more than 6,000 hectares. Perhaps the country’s most beautiful alkali grasslands are found here: kilometres of bare alkali surfaces, separated by loess plateaus up to 1-1.5 metres high and by marshes and meadows in deeper-lying areas. About one-fifth of its area is part of the Állampuszta National Prison. Experts from the Centre for Ecological Research, the Kiskunság National Park Directorate, the Élvonal Shorebird Science team of the University of Debrecen and the Dunatáj Nature and Environmental Protection Public Foundation are implementing a conservation project here with the support of the European Union’s LIFE-Nature programme, which includes the re-establishment of grazing, the eradication of invasive plants, and the study of the effects of anti-worm veterinary drugs on arthropod and bird diversity.