Landscape Transformation Processes and the Changing of the Vegetation of Gödi Láprét (“Fen at Göd”)

Abstract

The natural values of the fens and moorgrass meadows at Göd became known in the 1980s. The area of almost 70 hectares, previously used for centuries as pasture and meadow, has been isolated by urbanisation and land use has changed over the last three decades, with the ploughing up and conversion into a golf course and the designation of part of the valuable fen and Molinia meadows as nature reserves. These protected areas are well studied from a botanical point of view, even on a national scale, and the trends in vegetation change incet he 1990s are therefore well understood. The aim of this article is to provide a historical overview of the landscape change in the fen and to explore the changes in flora and habitats. The research involved the analysis of historical maps and archival aerial photographs, the evaluation of flora lists from three botanical surveys carried out at 15-year intervals and a comparative analysis of habitat maps using GIS. The results show that the water regime of the studied wetlands is changing, the vegetation is degraded and becoming poorer in fen specialists, while at the same time the increase in habitat diversity has led to an enrichment of the fauna of the studied area.