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Duna Dráva National Park
Size of protected area: Out of 49.473 hectare protected area, 14.123 hectars are protected to a greater extent.
Location: The park consists of ten areas of different sizes, encircled by the protected strips along the southern reaches of the Danube and along the left bank of the river Dráva.
Visiting: The majority of the areas can be visited without restrictions, but also there are highly protected areas which can only be visited with a permit. More information is available at the centre of the national park (Pécs, Tettye tér 9.).
Woods in the flood areas of the southern reaches of the Danube
The original character of the Danube was changed by canalization to a lesser degree than in the case of the Tisza and most of the rivers in the Alföld. Namely the shape of the bed of the river with high banks at several parts naturally provided a straighter run and faster flow than in the case of the Tisza with a slow flow and once meandering all the way. Where the river reached a part with lower banks – more dangerous in terms of flooding – wider, sometimes several kilometer wide flood area was provided to catch possible floods. Therefore, almost natural flood associations survived at several places inside the wide flood areas in the Szigetköz and especially in the southern reaches of the Danube in Hungary.
1. Gemenc. (Area: 20.780 hectares. Protected to a greater extent: 2761 hectares. The closed parts of the area can be visited by narrow-gauge railway or pleasure-boat. The rest can be visited without restrictions with the aid of a good map.)
The Gemenc forest is the largest woods in flood lands in Hungary. Its area – more than thirty kilometer long and as wide as ten kilometers – is surrounded by the mouth of the Sió in the north and the Báta-Szeremle-Baja line in the south. The protected area is even larger than that, because it stretches to the north as far as almost Szekszárd and it also includes the so called orchid forest (wild orchids – mainly military orchid and some marsh orchid bloom in the spring in the scarcely thirty hectare woods. In actual fact the Gemenc forest is not one forest, but a series of forests divided by the dead channels and still alive bends of the Danube. Thus more than twenty contiguous forests came about bearing the names of the dead channels or the names of the settlements nearby (Tarlós, Felsö-, Alsó-, and Kisgemenc, Keselyüs, Malomtelelö, Veránka, Kis- and Nagyrezét, Cserta, Pörbölyerdö etc.).
Bird's view of Gemenc 46°12'43.52"N, 18°53'53.80"E
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However several of these forests are rather run down, because they fell victim of intensive woodcutting and artificial afforestation for long years. The untouched gallery forests are usually in flood lands along the Danube.
In the last century being the hunting-ground of the government – because of their precious, world famous red deer stock – the forests received high protection and that is why real native flood lands forest survived in several thousand hectares: the magical world of mortlakes, fenwoods, marsh meadows, inner lakelets. These core areas are generally flooded by the Danube in the spring and in the autumn and water coverage can stay all year round in lower areas.
The broom shrubs in the areas covered by water several times a year, are followed by soft-wooded gallery forests, white willows at large areas, black poplars (Populus nigra) and white poplars (P.alba). The almost impenetrable shrub stratum consists of hawthorn (Crataegus), guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) and dewberry (Rubus caesius). The marsh woundwort (Stachys), summer snowflake live at the grass stratum.
The higher areas, which are only sometimes flooded by water – are covered by hardwooded gallery forests, oak-ash-elm forests, with the largest Hungarian hawthorn (Crataegus nigra) stock in Hungary at the shrub stratum. Several sedge species, adder's-tongue fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum), snake's head fritillary grow and meadows full of lilies-of-the-valley bloom at the grass stratum.
Malomtelelö-lake 46°14'37.22"N, 18°51'41.46"E
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The fauna of the area is also rather valuable. Besides the already mentioned stock of game, the wild boar, the roe-deer, the red deer, the wild cat or the otter is not uncommon either. Several bat and frog species (edible frog, marsh-frog and moor frog, toads), the Aesculapian- and the grass snake live in the area. But it is the avifauna which is the most precious. Herons (common-, purple- and dwarf heron, little egret, night heron), the mallard and the ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca), the black stork hatch in the dead channels and in the reeds. The kingfisher, the black woodpecker, several reed songbirds and several species of warblers (Phylloscopus), other warbler species (Sylvia) also hatch here. But the most valuable of the birds living here are the predators: the white-tailed eagle, the saker falcon, and the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina) stock hatch in the gallery forests along the southern reaches of the Danube.
2. The Mohácsi Island (the small areas which can be visited without restrictions make up about 1000 hectares altogether.)
Valuable flood lands associations can also be found in the south of Gemenc, in the Mohács plain along the right bank of the Danube, as well as on the left bank in the Mohács Island. These, however, are not several thousand hectare extensive flood lands forests, the majority of them are confined to surviving dead channels, surroundings of mort lakes preserved in their original state, which were taken under protection of the national park. The protected area contiguous with the Gemenc corpus area stretches from Báta as far as the national boundary. The narrow strips along both sides of the river as far as Mohács, but it also stretches to the mort lakes, which are either getting swampy at some places or kept alive by little watercourses, channels. Such areas can be found between Dunafalva and Bátmonostor, or in the vicinity of Nagybaracska and Homorúd. These areas are characterized by the same flood lands associations as the Gemenc forest. The edges of the small detached mort lakes often get swampy and covered by reeds providing suitable habitat for heron species, the mallard, and reed songbirds. In addition, the gray leg goose also hatches in the reeds of the Riha lake near Homorúd.
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3. Béda-Karapancsa (Area: 7000 hectares. Protected to a greater extent: 1030 hectares. It can be visited without restrictions, except for the highly protected areas – Macskalyuk and the Béda part of the Szúnyog Island.)
This area is also situated along the two banks of the Danube, in the Mohács plain (southeast of Kölked) and in the Mohács Island (south of the Karapancsa-Homorúd line. Forming one unit even today this is the second largest part of the national park and it is mainly covered with flood lands forests. As it often occurred at other places, too it was the closed frontier zone that preserved nature, as this area is located along the border of former Yugoslavia.
The character of the flood lands forests is the same as that of the Gemenc area: wet, swampy area divided by dead channels, dams, channels, marsh meadows , mort lakes also covered with willows, black- and white poplar soft-wooded groves, oak-elm-ash groves. Yet being thirty kilometers to the south, its underwood is significantly different. Besides the alraedy mentioned species, plants belonging to the Balkan (Illyrian) flora are also present in the Béda-Karapancsa forests. The most characteristic is the foxglove (Digitalis), the garden honeysuckle (Lonicera caprifolium), the bear's-foot (Helleborus odorus) and the silver lime (Tilia tomentosa).
Its fauna also corresponds with that of the area more to the north: its stock of game is world famous. It is an unforgettable experience to sit on a dam here or at Gemenc and just listen during belling. The wild cat lives in the almost impenetrable thickets, while the otter lives along the dams. The avifauna is also uniquely rich: bedsides the already mentioned heron and duck species, the largest stock of white-tailed eagle in Hungary lives here, the white-tailed eagle, the saker falcon, the raven and the black stork also nest here.
Along the Dráva (Except for some smaller highly protected areas it can be visited freely.)
The Dráva, again because of being located in a frontier zone, is the most intact river in Hungary. Rregularizing works were done only in some places – especially at the upper reaches, so the river escaped the harmful effects of the regularizing frenzy. The Dráva, accompanied by mort lakes, dead branches, marshy banks, flood lands, swampy meadows is still a self-regulating river, it literally goes its own way. In the Holocene the river cut a rather wide space for itself into the northern loess sandy soil, where it changes, shapes, builds and demolishes its bed virtually from month to month even at present. It is lined by falling loess walls at some places (at Vízvár, Berzence), which are undermined, demolished. At other places the river builds, spreads deposit at its bends, or builds or demolishes gravel or sand benches still somwhere else. Its an imposing sight just to sit on the bank, though if someone manages to go along the Hungarian reaches from Bélavár to Drávaszabolcs by boat – after collecting the necessary permit – they should feel especially fortunate.
Flooded
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The valley shaped by the Dráva is no wider than four kms even at its widest point, but because of the natural state of the river, this area is a self-contained world. The macro pattern of the flood lands forests accompaning the river corresponds to that of the forests along the southern-Danube: there are broom-willows, smaller patches of alder moor at some places, then willow- and black- and white poplar groves, and finally oak-ash-elm groves at higher areas. Besides arborescent associations, the river is lined by – in small patches, though – valuable unwooded associations, wet hayfields, marsh meadows with snake's head fritillary, Siberian iris, loose-flowered orchid (Orchis laxiflora) on them, as well as sedge associations. The water-chestnut (Trapa natans), the water-soldier (Stratiotes aloides) and the floating watermoss are also common in the dead branches, in the water of self-contained mort lakes. In terms of geography of plants, plants belonging to the flora of Pannon, Mediterranean, and alpine zones can be found, too.
Dráva river
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The richness of the fauna of the area along the Dráva is still due to the fairly clean water, warming up easily on the sand- and gravel benches, which makes it splendidly suitable for spawning. Almost fifty fish species are proved to be found in the Dráva. A remarkably varied avifauna is based on this source. Masses of heron species (common-, purple heron, little egret, night heron, bittern), the black stork nest in the dead branches and flood lands forests, while ducks nest in the reeds and cormorants nest in one of the swampy groves along the river. The kingfisher, warblers are common out of the smaller birds. Similarly to the southern reaches of the Danube, birds of prey appear here, too: the white-tailed eagle hovering up in the air is not an uncommon sight, but the osprey and the black kite are spotted, too.
The presence of bird colonies associated with the sand- and gravel benches is a further specialty of the Dráva. The rare little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) nests on the fresh grave shallows, not covered with vegetation, while the common sandpiper chooses the parts covered with vegetation. The other rarity of the benches shaped by water is a plant species called the German tamarisk (Myricaria germanica), which can be found only here in Hungary. The sand martin (Riparia riparia), nesting in colonies of several thousands in the loess walls of high banks, is similarly valuable.
The narrow strip of protected area – widening only from time to time – goes along the Dráva all the way in its Hungarian reaches, which can be toured by bicycle all the way, but maybe not for long in the future. A hydroelectric power station is being planned to be built on the Dráva by the Croatian government – another proof of human folly. If it is actually built, this small Eden will be wiped out for ever.
4. From Örtilos to Barcs
The forest descending from Szent Mihály hill to the Drava in the vicinity of Örtilos is a botanical rarity. As a result of the argillaceous soil and the cool microclimate, a beech-hornbeam-oak association came about, which normally characterizes mountainous areas. Representatives of mountainous, and alpine flora live in its underwood: the leopard's-bane (Doronicum austriacum), the trefoil cress (Dentaria), the goat's beard (Arancus silvestris), the triphyllous anemone (Anemone) and other rarities. (There are similar kind of areas on the Tölös hill near Zákány.)
The periodically flooded Lankóci forest (oak-hornbeam) is located in the protected strip between Gyékényes and Berzence – where once the Dráva went – where the rare nettle, snake's head fritillary, the marsh helleborine (Epipactis palustris) live. A smaller alder fenwood grove can be found beside the forest, which had been exploited before it was taken under protection, notwithstanding it is still valuable.
The alders, soft wooded groves and fresh meadows of protected, wet, marshy areas stretching from Berzence to Bélavár are reminiscent of a landscape of times passed. The black stork lives in the forests, and the noise of the corncrake – getting rarer and rarer everywhere in the country – can still be heard regularly in the meadows dotted by the loose-flowered orchid. This rare and hiding bird feels at home also in the wet hayfields stretching from Bélavár to Babócsa. This part of the Dráva is perhaps the most beautiful part of the river. Sand martins nest in sand walls in the flood lands as high as even thirty meters. Bird associations characteristic of flood lands forests can be found in the groves, and the white-tailed eagle comes down here, too searching for prey.
5. The junipers in Barcs. (Area: 5520 hectares. 1227 hectares are highly protected. It can be visited freely, but a permit is necessary to see the highly protected areas.)
The about seventy square km area in the east of Barcs is known as the 'ancient junipers', although the juniper (Juniperus communis) occupied the sandy area –divided by sand-hills – after the common oaks had been cleared and the area was used for grazing.
The large area of contiguous junipers on open and close puszta steppe –mixed with birches (Betula pendula) – is a truly captivating sight. The green-winged orchid, Pasque flower, Hungarian iris (Iris variegata) bloom in the area, but perhaps the most precious is the hog's fennel (Peucedanum). The world of insects of the warm and dry parts is just as exciting. Almost seven hundred butterfly species have been found in the area and the snouted grasshopper and the praying mantid live here, too providing an exotic sight. Tall sedge marsh meadows, broom-willows, alder marshes, wet hayfields stretch in the wet parts, around the Rigóc brook, and the Széles lake, while common oaks stretch in the higher areas. The highly protected royal fern lives only here in Hungary. There is Hampshire purslane (Ludwigia palustris) in the marsh meadows, the protected spike-rush and large stocks of peat / bog-moss (Sphagnum) species can be found here.
Barcs junipers
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6. From Barcs to Drávaszabolcs (Except for a few small, highly protected areas it can be visited freely.)
Moving on towards the east of Barcs beside the protected strip along the Dráva, an especially beautiful riverside sector can be found: with adjoining flood lands forests, shallows covered with forest and with a rich avifauna.
Going on along the river, just a few klometers down – in the fields of Mailáth-puszta and Cún – in the bed of the former Ó-Dráva (ancient) the ensemble of a marshy, protected mort lake and the surrounding soft-wooded groves constitute a landscape of idyllic beauty. The common heron, squacco heron and other heron species hatch in the area, the wild cat lives in the hardly penetrable forests.
The Matty cormorant forest is located where the river leaves Hungarian territory, where a vast colony of divers sp. hatch. Although the area cannot be visited, the flock of fishing coromorants can be observed on the Drava all the time.
Drava at Vízvár
It is a forlorn undertaking to survey the cultural historical assets of the national park, likewise just listing of them, however there are very good brochures at the visitors' disposal. Earthworks, Roman roads and bridge-heads, churches, and masterpieces of traditional building remind us that this part of the country has been inhabited continuously since the prehistoric age. The tiny lands of South-Somogy and Ormánság with their villages – unfortunately, some of them only scarcely populated at present – beautiful landscapes suggest the possibility of coexistence of man and nature.
The relics of earlier flood lands a kind of ancient agriculture – today very much missing – can still be seen along the Alsó-Duna (lower Danube) and along the Dráva: channels, dams. By this kind of agriculture man living in this area could make use of floods for their own benefit, as well as for the nature's. Floods were used to create spawning spaces for fish, wet hayfields, fields with lots of nutritive material. FOEK.hu pages
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Edited by syzygy (11/04/08 02:42 AM)
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