Dragica Purger

• PhD
• University of Pecs

Quantifying within-community variability and understanding the related assembly rules are important in developing and assessing grassland restoration. Beta diversity has great potential, revealing mechanisms behind community-level changes in succession. Here, we introduce two simple beta diversity indices: Microhabitat Diversity is the Shannon dive...

Stachys ocymastrum (L.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) is an annual species native to the Western Mediterranean. During fieldwork, it was found in a ruderal site in the village of Veli Iž on the island of Iž (Zadar archipelago, Croatia) in May 2024. Since there are no earlier records of this species in Croatia, it should be considered a new taxon of this countr...

The recruitment life stage, including germination and early seedling establishment, is the most vulnerable life stage of plants and has cascading effects on plant performance at later life stages. However, surprisingly little is known on the eco-evolutionary processes that determine the success of biological invasions at this life stage. We perform...

Continuing our search for bioactive compounds in species from the Juncaceae family, Juncus articulatus was investigated. Ten previously undescribed phenanthrenes—articulins A–J (1–10)—and ten known compounds—juncuenin B, dehydrojuncuenin B, juncatrin B, ensifolins E, F, H, I, K, juncuenin D, and luzulin A (11–20)—along with other compounds, have be...

In nature, ground-nesting birds rarely nest under an active shrub nest of another species. In the case of the proximity of the two nest types, we assumed that if a nest predator finds one nest, it will most likely rob the other nest as well. To test this, we exposed artificial nests with one quail and one plasticine egg on shrubs and underneath on...

The focus of our study was the changes in the composition of semi-natural dry grasslands in Hungary. Maintaining the favorable condition of grasslands is not only important from a theoretical nature conservation point of view, but it also has important economic implications. Since these valuable habitats were created with the help of humans, their...

The focus of our study was the changes in the composition of semi-natural dry grasslands in Hungary. Since these valuable habitats were created with the help of humans, their preservation also requires regular treatment. Our mowing experiment aimed to investigate the suppression of the native Calamagrostis epigejos L. Roth. In Hungary, in the Cserh...

Lutein and its cis-isomers occur in a lot of plants, including a variety of flowers. In this study, lutein isomers were produced via iodine-catalyzed isomerization, and four cis-isomers (9Z-, 9′Z-, 13Z-, and 13Z′) were isolated by means of column chromatography and semipreparative HPLC. The structures of the 9′Z- and 13′Z-isomers were elucidated vi...

Our study focused on the compositional changes of Pannonian semi-natural dry grasslands. The preservation of these valuable habitats requires regular management. Our mowing experiment aimed to study the suppression of the native dominant Calamagrostis epigejos L. Roth in mid-successional grasslands. Mowing was applied twice a year in eight permanen...

Drastic reduction of the extent of grasslands threatens natural communities. Loess meadow steppes are especially vanishing world-wide due to agricultural intensification. In Hungary, only a few loess steppic grasslands remained intact, hence, gathering knowledge about the efficient ways of extending their area is of paramount importance. In this pa...

The geographical and ecological features of Transylvania enable the wide ethnobotanical use of pine species. The aim of this study was to survey the current ethnomedicinal and other traditional use of pine species of Hungarian-speaking ethnic groups in Transylvania and to compare them with earlier reports performed in Transylvania and from other co...

Most of the changes in land use have led to a decline in the biodiversity of agricultural land. Extensive perennial alfalfa fields favor the proliferation of agricultural pests, especially common voles. However, rodents can damage not only the plants but also the nests of passerines that breed on the ground. Their seasonal and annual dynamics influ...

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections have become a serious therapeutic problem recently, that can be solved by using of herbal drugs with antibacterial effects. The stem, leaf, tepal, anther, and ovary of Lilium candidum L. (white lily) were selected for histological and microbiological studies. For the microbial study, the stem, leaf, an...

Colchicum hungaricum Janka (Colchicaceae) is a plant species with Balkan distribution range, its northernmost occurrence is in the southern part of Hungary, in the Villány hills, on the southern slope of the Szársomlyó. The species was discovered by Viktor Janka on February 18th 1867, and this area is the locus classicus of the species and the only...

The goldenrod (Solidago) species are flowering plants that produce nectar and can be the sources of unifloral honeys. S. canadensis and S. gigantea are native to North America and invasive in several European countries, while S. virgaurea is native to Europe. The aim of this work was to determine and compare the antioxidant capacity of goldenrod ho...

Diversity responses to climatic factors in plant communities are well understood from experiments, but less known in natural conditions due to the rarity of appropriate long-term observational data. In this paper, we use long-term transect data sampled annually in three natural grasslands of different species pools, soils, landscape contexts and la...

The occurrence of phenanthrenes is limited in nature, with such compounds identified only in some plant families. Phenanthrenes were described to have a wide range of pharmacological activities, and numerous research programs have targeted semisynthetic derivatives of the phenanthrene skeleton. The aims of this study were the phytochemical investig...

Over the last decades, the European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus) has been declining in many parts of its European range. Due to the lack of recent information on the occurrence and status of the European Hamster in the south-western Carpathian Basin west of the Danube, we used information gathered from prey remains in Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba) pel...

Walls represent globally distributed, locally extensive, artificial ecosystems. Wall vegetation is still poorly known in the Mediterranean and Temperate regions of southeastern Europe. The aim of this study is to classify and describe chasmophytic vegetation of walls, covering southeastern Europe from Slovenia to North Macedonia. From a total 463 p...

Campylopus introflexus (Hedw.) Brid. is the most widespread invasive moss species in Europe. Originating from the Southern Hemisphere, it is nowadays causing serious changes in coastal sand habitats of Western Europe and invading various anthropogenic habitats in Central Europe. In South-Eastern Europe, the species was initially found in Croatia in...

Populations of Bouché’s star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum boucheanum (Kunth) Asch., fam. Hyacinthaceae) were recorded on Bansko Hill (Baranja, Croatia) in 2007. Since this species has not been previously confirmed in Croatia, it should be treated as a new taxon in the country and included in the Flora Croatica Database. In this paper we present a sho...

The emergence and continued expansion of one of the most dangerous causes of biodiversity loss and habitat alteration such as invasive species at some Ramsar wetlands of the Southern Pannonia raise a series of questions of both an environmental as well as a legal character relevant to these fragile ecosystems. The Ramsar Convention provides a set o...

62 contributors report on 55 bryophyte species, collected in Europe, Central and South America, Antarctica, Central and East Asia. Most of taxa are reported for different European countries: Denmark (14 species), Italy (3), Spain (2), Lithuania (2), Hungary (2 ones); the other countries (Portugal, Croatia, Ukraine, Greece, etc) are represented by o...

Mesic and semi-dry grasslands are among the most valuable and species-rich anthropogenic habitats in Hungary. In contrast to the high respect with which they are regarded by conservationists, the diversity of this vegetation and its syntaxonomy were neglected for a long time. In this paper we present the first country-level synthesis and syntaxonom...

The breeding range of the Spanish sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis, in Croatia is rapidly expanding. We studied the size of the nesting population and selection of nest site in an area partially included in the Krka National Park. Our results confirm that between 2004 and 2007 in the wider area of the Krka National Park the Spanish sparrow had occupi...

Questions(i) Which species dominate mid-successional old-fields in Hungary? How does the identity of these species relate to local (patch-scale) diversity and to the progress of succession? (ii) Which species have the strongest negative impact on diversity in spontaneous old-field succession and what generalizations are possible about traits of the...

Oak forests on loess are floristically one of the richest types of broadleaved forests and are among the most threatened types of natural habitats in the Carpathian Basin. They are classified in several communities in Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. These syntaxa are distinguished mostly on the basis of traditional phytosociological methods without co...

Euphorbia davidii Subils (Euphorbiaceae), toothed spurge, is a plant native in N-America, introduced in Europe about fifty years ago. There were no published data about the occurrence of this species in Serbia. Populations of this alien weed were noticed in 2007 in two localities in Vojvodina (Serbia) on the arable fields between the villages Aleks...

In 2011, a new population of the stonewort Nitella hyalina was found on the island of Pag, in a pond between Novalja and Lun, near the cove of Dubac. At the littoral, unshielded zone of this unnamed, small shallow lake Nitella hyalina forms large monodominant patches or grows together with Potamogeton trichoides Cham. et Schl. and R nodosus Poir. W...

Euphorbia davidii Subils (Euphorbiaceae) or toothed spurge is a plant native to North America, but in Europe it is an alien weed. The populations of this weed were recorded in the Province of Vojvodina (Serbia) for the first time in 2007 in the arable fields in two localities: between the villages of Aleksa Šantić and Pačir and also between the vil...

- Populations of herbaceous periwinkle, Vinca herbacea Waldst. et Kit., were found on April 2007 on Bansko Hill (Baranja, Croatia), which lies on the south-western edge of the range of this Pontic-Pannonian species. Since V. herbacea was included neither in the handbooks for plant identification nor in the current Croatian Flora Database, a new key...

Classification of mesic grasslands and their transitions of South Transdanubia (Hungary) Relevés from meadows and pastures of South Transdanubia (Hungary) are evaluated by clustering and ordination methods. The relevé selection focused on the Arrhenatheretalia order but its transitions towards other types were also included. The groups of relevés a...

The number of ground-nesting bird species in meadows, one of the most vulner-able habitats in the ornithological reserve of Vrana Lake Nature Park has decreased in recent decades. Nest survival rates were investigated in meadows and reed beds using nest predation experiments in late March and in May 2005. Predators damaged 18% of the 50 artificial...

Goldcrests Regulus regulus are found wintering in high numbers from October to April in the Adriatic coast and islands, feeding mainly on insects in the undergrowth and on the ground. Common Leadwort Plumbago europaea L. continues to flower on stone walls well into October, exposing its sticky calyx and seed capsules for at least 30 days, meaning a...

On the Dalmatian Islands native large bodied ground-nesting bird species are rare, while the introduced Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is currently very common and often breed in abandoned farmlands. The survival chance of its nests in two different habitats was surveyed by using artificial ground nests on Solta Island in May 2008. With...

During Biodiversity Days 2006 and 2007 in the vicinity of Gyűrűfű village totaly 328 vascular plants have been registered. Among them 12 protected plants were found: Dryopteris carthusiana, Helleborus dumetorum, Hepatica nobilis, Chamaecytisus ciliatus, Dictamnus albus, Primula vulgaris, Gentiana cruciata, Tamus communis, Cephalanthera damasonium,...

A population of Reseda inodora Rchb. was found in Bansko brdo (Baranya, Croatia), in April 2007. This Pontic-Pannonian species was not previously included in the recent Croatian botanical database. The chorology of R. inodora seems to be important, because this finding is on the western border of the species area. Considering the low number of indi...

Pomatias rivularis (Eichwald, 1829) specimens were collected on Bansko Brdo (or Bansko Hill, Baranya, Croatia) during spring 2007. This species proved to be new for the Croatian fauna. Populations of Pomatias elegans (O. F. Müller, 1774) were also found on Bansko Brdo, which is the only known area in Croatia where both these two species occur. The...

The first version of the map of the Hungarian vegetation-based landscape regions were prepared at the scale of 1: 200,000 (1 km or higher resolution). The primary goal of the map was to provide an exact background for the presentation and evaluation of the data of the MÉTA database. Secondly, we intended to give an up-to-date and detailed vegetatio...

Asmall population of flowering Iris pumila L. was discovered in April 2007 on the loess cliff near Zmajevac in Bansko brdo (Baranja, Croatia). This locality is on the south-westernmost border of the Pontic-Pannonian distribution area of the dwarf iris. The stand was described in a phytocoenological relevé. Based on recent knowledge of its distribut...

After a basic biodiversity assessment, twenty vascular plants are selected for monitoring along the Drava river and the Hungarian-Croatian border: Butomus umbellatus, Carex bohemica,. During field work in 2007, we made records about thirty populations (sites) of selected vascular plant species on the Croatian side of the Drava floodplain and in Bar...

Two plant communities with dominance of the subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) are described from the Great Hungarian Plain: Trifolietum subterranei Slavnić 1948 from Voivodina (Serbia) and Trifolio subterranei-Festucetum pseudovinae Penksza, Kapocsi et Engloner 1999 from the Körös–Maros region in Hungary. The paper deals with these co...

(chapter in Hungarian)

The study was carried out in the outskirts of the town of Pécs (southern Hungary) in a recultivated former coal mine. Bordered by Turkey Oak forests, this open area forms a wedge-shaped clearing in that woodland. Since trees and taller shrubs are rare in the area, it is mainly ground nesting bird species that occur in the clearing. In order to disc...

Intensive opencast coal mining has been in effect in the northeastern outskirts of Pécs (south Hungary) since 1968. The covering layer of the northern, recultivated area extending over 15 ha is overgrown by herbaceous vegetation. Oleaster ( Elaeagnus angustifolia) was planted in rows on the hillsides. The recultivated open areas are bordered by tur...

VADKERTI E., SZÖVÉNYI G. & PURGER D. (2003): The Isophya fauna of Mecsek and Villány Hills, SW Hungary (Insecta: Orthoptera). Összefoglalás: [VADKERTI E., SZÖVÉNYI G. & PURGER D. (2003): A Mecsek és a Villányi-hegység tarsza (Isophya) faunája (Insecta: Orthoptera). − Folia comloensis 12: 73−78.] – A Mecsekben 30, a Villányi-hegységben pedig 11 lelő...