Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok III. - Natura Somogyiensis 12. (Kaposvár, 2008)

Salamon-Albert Éva-Horváth Ferenc: Vegetation of Külső-Somogy in Hungary I.

Helleboro dumetorum-Carpinetum Soó & Borhidi in Soó 1962) and riverine oak-elmash woodlands (e.g. Knautio drymeiae-Ulmetum Borhidi & Kevey 1996) were the most frequent. Riverine ash-alder woodlands and alder galleries (e.g. Carici elongataeAlnetum Koch 1926, Carici brizoidis-Alnetum Horv. 1938 em. Oberdf. 1953), swamp woodlands (e.g. Angelico sylvestris-Alnetum Borhidi in Borhidi & Kevey 1996) were characteristic along the rivers and the streams. Several patches of beechwoods existed in extrazonal position (e.g. Vicio oroboidi-Fagetum Pócs & Borhidi 1960). The main vegetation type of dry continental woodlands was the turkey oak woodland (e.g. Potentillo micranthae-Quercetwn dalechampii Horvát A.O. 1981). Nowadays most of woodland patches are fragmented and poor in species, they are transitional stands between the vegetation of the sourrounded Zselic, the Great Hungarian Plain and Mecsek mountains (BORHIDI 1984, 2003, 2006). The woodlands of Külső-Somogy region belong to the State Forestry of Szántód (Sefag Rt.). Managed woodland patches have great species richness in different status of naturalness due to traditional intensive land use and reforestration. The main natural woody species are oaks (Quercus cerris, Q. petraea, Q. robur Q. pubescens), beech (Fagus sylvatica), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), limes (Tilia tomentosa, T. platyphyllos), maples (Acer campestre, A. platanoides, A. pseudo-platanus), ashes (Fraxinus ornus, F. excelsior), elms (Ulmus minor), common alder (Alnus glutinosa), willows (e.g. Salix alba). Frequent non-natural or introduced species are black locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia), pines (Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra, Picea abies, Larix decidua), poplars (Populus spp.), walnut (Juglans nigra), red oak (Q. rubra), maple (Acer negundo) and tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) (www.sefag.hu). Data collection Field data collection was executed between 2003-2006 as a grid-based, satellite-image supported (SPOT4), multi-attributed, large-scale mapping method so called MÉTA (Molnár et al. 2007). It is based on Á-NÉR2003 mapping and habitat guides (MOLNÁR 2003, BÖLÖNI et al. 2003). The goals were: 1) collecting data of all natural and semi-natural habitat types in Hungary 2) creating maps of semi-natural vegetation patches and 3) evaluating landscapes with vegetation types and their attributes as well. The database is constructed on a hexagon grid system of 35 hectars covering the whole area of Hungary as mapping units (HORVÁTH et al. 2008). Approximately 100 hexagons are associated into a quadrat at landscape scale. In hexagons habitat types, roughly estimated areas and vegetation attributes are listed (e.g. naturalness, neighbourhood, land use). This database is suitable to determine natural-based habitat quality and to compose the prognosis of future changes for vegetation and landscape. See MOLNÁR et al. (2007) for more details. Data analysis In our work we present landscape characteristics and habitat types of woodland vegetation in Külső-Somogy region. On the basis of MÉTA method a non-statistical quantitative analysis and evaluation was carried out on one hand, spatial thematic maps were constructed for displaying the actual semi-natural habitats and their spatial patterns at broad (landscape) scale on the other. Occurrence and relative area! proportion of woody habitat types and habitat groups were calculated and compared to each other. Habitat diversity was defined as the number of habitats or the occurrence of their landscape patches. Associated habitat groups were displayed on GIS thematic maps with additional layers (settlements, hydrological and geographical elements) using ESRI Arc View 3.3 program from valid hexagons of 99 quadrats. Habitat types in hexagons of 6 quadrats were estimated by the aerial photo owing to missing data.