Research for students

Modelling carbon, nitrogen and water cycling of grassland and farmland ecosystems is a useful tool for revealing the functioning of these ecosystems. The calibration and validation of the BIOME-BGCMuSo model through grassland soil and vegetation data and the analysis of the results is a good opportunity to understand better these ecosystems. Our field data are coming from the oversown and control fallow plots in the Kiskunság.

Many abandoned arable lands in the Hungarian Kiskunság could not regenerate to a productive and biodiverse grassland also after a decade of abandonment. Supposedly, the nutrient-poor soil is the main reason for that. Supporting the regeneration of these grasslands, we applied a seed mixture of native plants, mostly legumes, overseeding the selected fallows. Comparing with the control fallow plots, we are monitoring the development of the vegetation and the increase in biomass. Measuring aboveground biomass production in farmlands is essential for estimating the productivity of the lands. The method of measurements with Rising Plate Meter (RPM) requires calibration and validation through grass biomass measurements.

Many abandoned arable lands in the Hungarian Kiskunság could not regenerate to a productive and biodiverse grassland also after a decade of abandonment. Supposedly, the nutrient-poor soil is the main reason for that. Supporting the regeneration of these grasslands, we applied a seed mixture of native plants, mostly legumes, overseeding the selected fallows. Comparing with the control fallow plots, we are monitoring the development of the vegetation and changing in ecosystem functioning. Soil respiration is the main soil carbon efflux of ecosystems, and reflects well on soil functioning. Our research topics to study are the spatial and temporal variability of soil respiration, its relationship with biomass production, and the effect of the overseeding experiment on the soil activity and soil properties with time.

Az Ökológiai Kutatóközpont, Lendület Ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatás Kutatócsoportja több fronton is vizsgálja az ökológiai intenzifikáció (fenntartható mezőgazdaság az ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatások segítségével) beporzó rovarokra gyakorolt hatását, az Európai Unió által támogatott kutatásokban.

Lelkes szakdolgozók jelentkezését várjuk számos futó projektünkbe!

In the Kiskunság, 16 flowering plots in the middle of large agricultural areas were created. Our goal is to evaluate the impact of these plots, for example, whether the frequency of beneficial (and harmful) arthropods increases, and how far this extends into the adjacent agricultural fields. Are we infesting the wheat from the flower plots? Are we spreading predators or parasitoids to control pests? Is there a difference between arthropod groups or the crops grown or the edges with different structures? Hopefully this will help us to argue successfully to farmers about the benefits of sown flower fields and more broadly, habitat restoration.

In the Kiskunság, 16 flowering plots in the middle of large agricultural areas were created. Our goal is to evaluate the impact of these plots, for example, whether the frequency of beneficial (and harmful) arthropods will increase, and at what landscape scale. The impact of these plots on the occurrence of birds is an exciting research question: do ground nesting species prefer these sites over agricultural plots? How does it affect nest survival? What species prefer these areas? What is the effect of landscape structure? What effect does the size of the flower plot have? Such information can be used to develop a good practice to protect dramatically declining species such as the Eurasian skylark.

One of the main objectives of the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 was to preserve and restore ecosystem services (ES) as fully as possible. To this end, Member States were required to map and assess the state of ecosystems in their territory and the status and economic value of the ES they provide. In Hungary, a project was launched in the autumn of 2016, coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture which included the national mapping and evaluation of the ES of national importance (National Ecosystem Service Mapping and Evaluation; NÖSZTÉP). We are looking for an enthusiastic student to join the evaluation of the spatial patterns of the completed national maps.

Low intensity farming is an essential tool for maintaining farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services (eg. pollination, soil fertility, pest control). Effective management requires research knowledge and continuous monitoring. The research examines the impact of grassland overseeding and establishment of flower plots on arable land in the Kiskunság on biodiversity and ecosystem services, all in a landscape context. The question is how sowing with native plants, especially with Leguminosae, can restore soil fertility of old fields, and thus increase biomass and biodiversity. The question regarding the flower parcels is how far the effect penetrates into the landscape on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Áron joined in the Kiskunság Wildflower Fields Experiment, where he studies the local and landscape scale effects of wildflower fields and strips on the species richness, abundance, species composition of wild bees and hoverflies, the reproduction success of cavity-nesting wild bees and wasps and the delivered pollination services.

Ildikó explores the pitfalls of indicator ambiguities in the provision of honey from natural and agricultural ecosystems. In the last few years honey provision received considerable attention, with several new indicators having been proposed. Nevertheless, there are quite a few degrees of freedom in the way how honey provision capacities can be defined and measured, and consequently, there is a broad diversity between indicators developed in various parts of the world in what they actually show. Ildikó wants to unearth these hidden ambiguities, explore the underlying implementation choices, and to give recommendations for a sane and robust method selection and documentation process.

László compares dung beetle communities and functional traits in different habitats and for different dung types (horse, cattle, sheep). He also participates in international decomposition projects, and has prominent publications already.

In the Kiskunság Wild Flower Fields Experiment, Dóra studies the effects of treatment (i.e. differences between controls, sown fields and sown strips) and its interaction with landscape structure on butterfly (Lepidoptera) communities (abundance, species richness, diversity), as well as on their spatial distribution, in the second year of the experiment.