Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok III. - Natura Somogyiensis 12. (Kaposvár, 2008)
Salamon-Albert Éva-Horváth Ferenc: Vegetation of Külső-Somogy in Hungary I.
(GIS database for Hungarian Habitats, Magyarországi Élőhelyek Térképi Adatbázisa, HORVÁTH et al. 2008) based on a landscape ecology oriented protocol fitted to the whole territory of Hungary (BÖLÖNI et al. 2003, 2007, MOLNÁR et al. 2007). Material and method Külső-Somogy region (Fig. 1) is located south from Lake Balaton, bordered by Kapos river, Sió channel and Pogány valley in the territory of Somogy and Tolna counties. Its total extension is 3000 km 2 , mean altitude is 186 m a.s.L, 200-300 m a.s.l. especially on the ridges of the hills. The bedrock is limestone covered by loess on the surfaces of the crests trended to north-south direction. In the western part of the area (Nyugat-KülsőSomogy) the ridges of the hills are exposed to erosion and derasion. The eastern part of the region (Kelet-Külső-Somogy) is dissected with valleys parallel to Lake Balaton and the south part of it (Dél-Külső-Somogy) is a horizontal loess plateau with moderate slope to Kapos river. Running through the main north-south valleys, Jaba stream and Koppány stream flow from west to east. According to the data of meteorological stations (Szabadhídvég, Kaposvár) mean temperature is -2.5 C° in January, +20.5 C° in July, sum of precipitation is 650 mm per year. There are some cities and many small villages, so Külső-Somogy is not a frequent region from economical point of view (MAROSI and SOMOGYI 1990). On the basis of drought-sensitivity index some vegetation types existing in south-eastern part of the region could be endangered in climatically dry periods (NÉMETH et al. 2004). Mesophilous and riverine forest vegetation types in Külső-Somogy were widely distributed in the last centuries. Stands of lowland oak-hornbeam woodlands (e.g. Fraxino pannonicae-Carpinetum Soó & Borhidi in Soó 1962), oak-hornbeam woodlands (e.g. Fig. 1. Territory, settlements, geographical and hydrological elements of Külső-Somogy
