Csaba Tölgyesi

University of Szeged · Department of Ecology

Topographic complexity supports the maintenance of a high diversity of microhabitats, which may act as important ‘safe havens’ – or microrefugia – for biodiversity. Microrefugia are sites with specific environmental conditions that facilitate the persistence of species during environmental changes and exhibit unique eco-evolutionary dynamics. Howev...

In the Eurasian forest-steppe, with increasing aridity, the balance between naturally co-existing forest and grassland patches is expected to shift towards grassland dominance in the long run, although feedback mechanisms and changes in land-use may alter this process. In this study, we compared old and recent aerial photographs of Hungarian forest...

Semi-natural farming systems with high conservation value offer a valuable opportunity to meet biodiversity conservation goals without compromising agricultural production. The high conservation value of such systems often roots in their increased local or landscape-level heteroge-neity, which facilitates the coexistence of different species on a s...

Repeated surveys of vegetation plots offer a viable tool to detect fine‐scale responses of vegetation to environmental changes. In this study, our aim was to explore how the species composition and species richness of dry grasslands changed over a period of 17 years, how these changes relate to environmental changes and how the presence of spring e...

Global warming, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations and increased likeliness of extreme drought and wildfires in many regions will likely favour C4 grass species. To support future management actions, we explored the effect of the encroachment of an invasive perennial C4 grass, Sporobolus cryptandrus on the composition of soil seed banks in dry...

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) is a widespread invasive alien forb in dry sandy habitats of Central Europe. It adversely affects native plant and animal communities, but its ecosystem-level effects, particularly on hydrology, are little known. Since milkweed has an extensive, deep root system and large, broad leaves, we assumed a negative e...

Drainage ditches play a key role in the conservation of fragmented landscapes by providing refuge sites and secondary habitats for many terrestrial and aquatic organisms across various taxa. Species richness of ditches can exceed that of adjacent natural habitats, but here, we looked further and assessed the role of drainage ditches in shaping the...

Aims Ecological strategies can provide information about plant community assembly and its main drivers. Our aim was to reveal the dominant strategies of the vegetation types of forest–grassland mosaics and to deduce the assembly processes responsible for their species composition. Location Hungary. Methods We investigated eight vegetation types o...

Erdős L. (2023): Hogyan mentsünk bolygót – A természetvédelem története. Libri Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 185 pp. ISBN: 978-963-604-256-1

Ecosystem restoration is increasingly recognized as a means of climate change mitigation. Former global-scale studies predicted that ecosystem restoration can nearly offset human carbon emission since the Industrial Revolution 1,2 , but these were heavily criticized for their tree-centric view or questionable modeling approaches 3,4 , which hinders...

Microrefugia are often located within topographically complex regions where stable environmental conditions prevail. Most of the studies concerning the distributions of climate change-sensitive species have emphasized the dominance of cold air pooling over other environmental factors, such as resource availability. There is a shortage of informatio...

The existing plant trait databases’ applicability is limited for studies dealing with the flora and vegetation of the eastern and central part of Europe and for large-scale comparisons across regions, mostly because their geographical data coverage is limited and they incorporate records from several different sources, often from regions with marke...

Wood-pastures harbor critical natural and social values and are among the most ancient land use forms of Europe. The crucial conservation value of these silvopastoral systems is generally contributed to their characteristic landscape elements, the solitary trees, which provide microhabitats for a variety of organisms. However, by accommodating four...

Although edges are usually considered key areas for biodiversity, previous studies have focused on anthropogenic edges, usually studied edges in relation to forest interiors (disregarding the adjacent non-woody vegetation), and used simple taxonomic indices (without considering functional or phylogenetic aspects). We studied the species composition...

Renewable energy production is gaining momentum globally as a way to combat climate change without drastically reducing human energy consumption. Solar energy offers the fastest developing solution. However, ground-mounted solar panels have a high land requirement, which leads to conflicts with other land use types, particularly agriculture and bio...

Plant invasion and habitat fragmentation have a detrimental effect on biodiversity in nearly all types of ecosystems. We compared the direct and indirect effects of the invasion of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) on biodiversity patterns in different-sized Hungarian forest-steppe fragments. We assessed vegetation structure, measured tempera...

Global warming, elevated atmospheric CO concentrations, and increased likeliness of extreme drought and wildfires in many regions will likely favour C4 grass species. We explored the effect of the encroachment of an invasive perennial C4 grass, Sporobolus cryptandrus on the composition of soil seed banks in dry sand grasslands in Central Europe. In...

Introduction Land use changes have seriously fragmented grasslands leading to extensive biodiversity loss worldwide. Habitat fragmentation affects grasslands at both local and landscape scales, adversely affecting the probability of species colonisation and extinction. In our study, we addressed the effects of fragment size and landscape-scale habi...

Context Dolines are the most prominent geomorphological features in many karst landscapes that may provide important microhabitats for many species. Aims We aim to contribute to a better understanding of how forest age and topographic position influence the plant species richness and composition of vascular plants within doline habitats. Methods...

Scattered trees in wood-pastures represent outstanding conservation value by providing microhabitats for a variety of organisms. They also diversify ecosystem services by creating shade for livestock, and capturing and storing carbon. However, trees in wood-pastures are declining Europe-wide and an appropriate legal environment to maintain them is...

While near-natural forest stands are dramatically diminishing, monoculture tree plantations are rapidly spreading globally, including the eastern part of Central Europe. Tree plantations are regarded as simplified and species-poor ecosystems, but their functional and phylogenetic diversity and ecological value are still mostly unknown. In the prese...

Local biodiversity hotspots are often located within regions where extreme and variable environmental - e.g., climatic and soil - conditions occur. These areas are conservation priorities. Although environmental heterogeneity is recognised as an important determinant of biodiversity, studies focusing on the effects of multiple environmental heterog...

We present PADAPT 1.0, the Pannonian Database of Plant Traits which relies on regional data sources and integrates existing data and new measurements on a wide range of traits and attributes of the plant species of the Pannonian Biogeographical Region and makes it freely accessible at www.padapt.eu. The current version covers the species of the reg...

Ecosystems with forest and grassland patches as alternative stable states usually contain various closed, semi‐open and open habitats, which may be aligned along a vegetation cover gradient. Taxonomic diversity usually peaks near the middle of the gradient, but our knowledge on functional and phylogenetic diversity trends along gradients is more li...

As a consequence of agricultural intensification and habitat fragmentation since the mid-20th century, biological diversity has declined considerably throughout the world, particularly in Europe. We assessed how habitat and landscape-scale heterogeneity, such as variation in fragment size (small vs. large) and landscape configuration (measured as c...

The most widespread nature-based solution for mitigating climate change is tree planting. When realized as forest restoration in historically forested biomes, it can efficiently contribute to the sequestration of atmospheric carbon and can also entail significant biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits. Conversely, tree planting in naturally op...

Biological invasion is a worldwide phenomenon that can be considered a natural hazard. Protection against invasive plant species can only be successful if we know the anthropogenic factors that influence their occurrence, such as changes in land cover. In our study, we investigated the LUCAS based spatial distribution of five common invasive plant...

Personal protective equipment, used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic, heavily burdened the environment due to improper waste management. Owing to their fibrous structure, layered non-woven polypropylene (PP) disposable masks release secondary fragments at a much higher rate than other plastic waste types, thus, posing a barely understood ne...

Recent advances in ecology and biogeography demonstrate the importance of fire and large herbivores – and challenge the primacy of climate – to our understanding of the distribution, stability, and antiquity of forests and grasslands. Among grassland ecologists, particularly those working in savannas of the seasonally dry tropics, an emerging fire–...

Ranunculus psilostachys is native to the Balkan Peninsula and in Hungary it is currently known from the Villány Mountains and the Nyárád–Harkány Plain. Its origin in Hungary (native vs. introduced) has been debated since it was first discovered in the country. In this paper we provide an overview of the distribution of the species in Europe and Hun...

Species can survive periods of unfavorable conditions in small areas that are protected from climate-related disturbances, such as increasing temperature and severe drought. These areas are known as “microrefugia” and are increasingly recognized by conservationists. Although some studies suggest that the in situ survival of invertebrate species may...

Aim We evaluated stands of the invasive grass, Sporobolus cryptandrus in its native North American range and its non‐native European range, where it is a recent invader. Our aim was to reveal how the species’ increasing abundance affects functional diversity and the ecosystem service‐provisioning capacities of plant communities in both ranges. Loc...

Naturalness and hemeroby indicator values are specialized species-based indicators used in Continental Europe that reflect plant species’ affinity to degraded habitats. Despite their potential utility for basic and applied science, their similarities have gone unnoticed, and they have yet to be studied together. Here, we combine literature review a...

Abstract Disentangling the effects of different landscape and local attributes on the biota of habitat patches is often challenging. In Central European forest‐steppe ecosystems the high number of forest fragments and the relatively homogenous matrix between them offer the opportunity to disentangle the effects of habitat size and landscape structu...

Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Controlling their rapid spread can only be effective if we consider the geographical factors that influence their occurrence. For instance, roads, railway networks, green and blue infrastructure, and elements of ecological networks (e.g., ecological corridors) can facilitate the spread...

The quality of the surrounding landscape matrix often determines the biodiversity pattern of the remaining natural habitat fragments. Dispersal of organisms depends mostly on species traits related to mobility and the contrast between the habitat fragment and the matrix. Therefore, variation in species composition among fragments, i.e. beta-diversi...

Grassland restoration is gaining momentum worldwide to tackle the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Restoration methods and their effects on ecological community reassembly have been extensively studied across various grassland types, while the importance of post‐restoration management has so far received less attention. Grass...

For the effective control of an invasive species, gathering as much information as possible on its ecology, establishment and persistence in the affected communities is of utmost importance. We aimed to review the current distribution and characteristics of Sporobolus cryptandrus (sand dropseed), an invasive C4 grass species of North American origi...

The prevailing nature-based solution to tackle climate change is tree planting. However, there is growing evidence that it has serious contraindications in many regions. The main shortcoming of global tree planting is its awareness disparity to alternative ecosystem types, mainly grasslands. Grasslands, where they constitute the natural vegetation,...

Drainage canals are widespread components of agricultural landscapes. Although canals have greatly contributed to biodiversity loss by desiccating wetlands, they have recently attracted conservation attention due to their potential to function as refugia for native species in intensively managed landscapes. However, their conservation role in compl...

Aims Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the...

For the effective control of an invasive species, gathering as much information as possible on its ecology, establishment and persistence in the subjected communities is of utmost importance. We aimed to review the current distribution and characteristics of Sporobolus cryptandrus (sand dropseed), an invasive C4 grass species of North American orig...

Microrefugia are small areas that support favourable climate and allow species to persist during regional and global climate changes. Dolines in karst landscapes may provide such areas for many climate change-vulnerable species. Here we provide a better understanding on how plant species indicate changes in their environment (temperature, soil mois...

Previous studies found that pedunculate oak, one of the most widespread and abundant species in European deciduous forests, regenerates in open habitats and forest edges, but not in closed forest interiors. However, these observations usually come from the core areas of the biome, and much less is known about such processes at its arid boundary, wh...

Egy idegenhonos, évelő fűfaj, a buckalakó partirozs (Leymus arenarius (L.) Hochst.) hat kivadult állományát találtuk a Kiskunságban. A fajnak a Nagyalföldről eddig még nem volt adata. A leg­több előfordulás több száz négyzetméter kiterjedésű, néhány esetben a faj szinte monodomináns állo­mányt alkot, és az egyik állomány már egy nyílt homokpusztagy...

A Duna-Tisza közi homokhátságon az 1970-es évektől jelentős szárazodás figyelhető meg, mely veszélyezteti a térség gazdasági termelékenységét és a vízigényes élőhelyek fennmaradását. Jelenleg nincs konszenzus a szárazodást kiváltó tényezők egymáshoz viszonyított szerepéről. A legellentmondásosabb a homokfásítás kérdése, mely a homoki erdőgazdálkodá...

Karst landscapes are among the topographically most complex systems with various microhabitats, where species can persist despite unfavourable macro-environmental changes. These microhabitats can also function as stepping stones during range shifts. Although the enclosed depressions (dolines, sinkholes or tiankengs) of karst landscapes may act as s...

Forests have an important role during migration. They act as ecological corridors and provide resting and feeding places for birds. In our study, we sought to determine whether migratory birds prefer secondary forest or canal vegetation during migration. The study was carried out in Southeast Hungary, in an oleaster forest and in a canal. We used 1...

Temperate deciduous forests dominated by oaks cover extensive areas in European lowlands. These ecosystems have been under intense anthropogenic use for millennia, thus their natural dynamics, and their regeneration in particular, is still not well understood. Previous studies found that pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur ), one of the most widespread...

Burrow-dwelling rodents are often considered ecosystem engineer species in arid environments. They create distinct habitat patches by building burrows: they move large amounts of soil, mix soil layers and change soil properties locally. Our aim was to explore the role of Steppe Marmot as an ecosystem engineer in shaping the plant species compositio...

Agricultural intensification has resulted in severe declines in the extent and diversity of seminatural habitats in Europe, whereas the extent of secondary habitats has increased considerably. River embankments have become one of the most extensive and widespread secondary habitats in former floodplains. We compared the diversity patterns of second...

Dolines are local depressions of karst surfaces. They can be considered potential microrefugia for various species. We investigated the species composition and vegetation pattern of two medium-sized dolines in Hungary before and 10 years after logging, and analysed how different species groups (oak forest species, beech and ravine forest species an...

Karst depressions (dolines) have the potential to act as safe havens for a high diversity of valuable species. We showed that local anthropogenic disturbances play a significant role in determining the naturalness of dolines. We compared the number of specialist species, competitor species, generalist species and species of disturbed habitats betwe...

Drainage canals are ubiquitous components of agricultural landscapes worldwide. Although canals have greatly contributed to biodiversity loss by desiccating wetlands, they have recently attracted conservation attention due to their potential to function as refugia for native wetland-dependent species in intensively managed landscapes. However, thei...

Woody plants in water‐limited ecosystems affect their environment on multiple scales: locally, natural stands can create islands of fertility for herb layer communities compared to open habitats, but afforestation has been shown to negatively affect regional water balance and productivity. Despite these contrasting observations, no coherent multisc...

Featuring a transitional zone between closed forests and treeless steppes, forest-steppes cover vast areas, and have outstanding conservation importance. The components of this mosaic ecosystem can conveniently be classified into two basic types, forests and grasslands. However, this dichotomic classification may not fit reality as habitat organiza...

Dolines are depressions in karst landscapes that are of high value for conservation, providing habitats and supporting species not found in the surrounding landscape. This is due to their high microhabitat diversity and ability to decouple microclimate from regional climate changes, making them potential refugia for biodiversity. Nevertheless, loca...

Woody plants in water-limited ecosystems affect their environment on multiple scales: locally, natural stands can create islands of fertility for herb layer communities compared to open habitats, but afforestation has been shown to negatively affect regional water balance and productivity. Despite these contrasting observations, no coherent multisc...