The third edition of the International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration has been published in the latest special issue of Restoration Ecology. Developed by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) in collaboration with leading experts worldwide, the updated guidance provides a comprehensive, evidence-based...
The latest episode of the Greenfo podcast, Nature Restoration in Hungary: A Shared Responsibility, A Local Task, explores the opportunities and challenges of implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation in Hungary. The discussion was recorded during the 35th National Meeting of Hungarian Green Civil Organisations held in Szentendre in May 2026...
The past few years of extreme drought in Hungary have made the problem of climate change — which has actually been ongoing for decades — tangible for many people. The importance of water retention is receiving increasing attention, and regulatory and practical measures have been launched to conserve water in the landscape. While the sight of...
On May 12, 2026, the European Commission launched a public consultation regarding the review of the Birds and Habitats Directives. The comments and suggestions received will serve as the basis for the fitness check of the Directives.
Expert speaker Kris Decleer introduces Landscape Ecological System Analysis (LISA) as a structured, science-based approach to assessing restoration needs across landscapes, alongside the concept of the Favorable Reference Area (FRA) as a way to define restoration ambition and long-term ecological viability. The session also raises concerns that...
At the 200th anniversary conference of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), our group member Melinda Halassy delivered a lecture on the scientific foundations and practical implications of ecological restoration in the early 21st century. Framing restoration as the "acid test of ecology," she highlighted the importance of community assembly...
The SER-Europe Legal Working Group (LWG) has published a series of six policy briefs examining the legal and governance implications of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR). The series offers targeted analysis across key sectors, including agriculture, forestry, marine and urban ecosystems, protected species, and restoration planning and...
One of our group members, Anna Kövendi-Jakó, received funding through the Academy's grant program for researchers raising children. The support was awarded for preparing a scientific paper on testing seed transfer zones based on the palnt traits of sandy species.
On April 17, the latest episode of the ÖKé! podcast, "The Foundations of Our Life: Ecosystem Services", will be released. Dr. Péter Koncz, a member of our group and ecological expert at the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, explains the natural processes that are essential for understanding both human well-being and the functioning of...
In addition to climate change and our ecological footprint, economic uncertainties, social inequalities, and public health challenges are increasingly intertwined—this complex phenomenon is known as a polycrisis, a global-scale problem. The "Polycrisis Conference" sought answers to this urgent situation, examining the greatest crisis of the 21st...
EU Nature Restoration Regulation in Hungary: Insights from ÖBI Seminar In the latest ÖBI seminar, Melinda Halassy presented "Implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation: Where Do We Stand?", offering a clear snapshot of how the EU's Nature Restoration Regulation is being put into practice. She outlined the EU framework and guidance, detailed...
In this study, the authors explored how plants allocate biomass belowground by examining species-specific and community-level root mass fractions in a semiarid sandy grassland. They also investigated whether changes at the community level are driven more by shifts in species composition or by how individual species respond to altered precipitation...
Our colleague, Amira Vörös (advised by György Kröel-Dualy and Tibor Kalapos), successfully defended her doctoral dissertation today, entitled
In a recent study published in Global Ecology and Conservation, our group investigated how short-term seed storage and the timing of seeding influence the restoration of open sand grasslands, using accessions from the Pannon Seed Bank.
Our research group participates the project "Foundations for the strategic planning of ecosystem services-based green infrastructure developments supported by regularly updated datasets" (ÖSZ-ZI, KEHOP_PLUSZ-3.2.2-24-2024-00002)
The European Commission has recently opened two forums for expressing opinions.
The HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research has published a new 60-page science-based popular booklet, New Species, New Challenges – The Spread and Management of Invasive Non-Native Species in Hungary (in Hungarian). Edited by our team and written collaboratively by our members, this publication was produced within the framework of the...
Megnyílt a regisztráció a "Planetáris egészség a polikrízis idején. Összekapcsolt rendszerek és komplex válságok – új irányok a planetáris egészség kutatásában" című konferenciára.
The closing international consortium meeting of the eLTER PLUS and eLTER PPP research projects was held recently, marking an important milestone in the development of long-term ecological research infrastructure in Europe. Staff from the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (CER) also took part in the meeting. The three-day event was held in...
A HUN-REN Ökológiai Kutatóközpont, csoportunk közreműködésével, és a Magyar Népegészségügy Megújításáért Egyesület "Planetáris egészség a polikrízis idején. Összekapcsolt rendszerek és komplex válságok – új irányok a planetáris egészség kutatásában" címmel konferenciát rendez 2026. március 19-én.
ELTE University's Doctoral School of Biology is awaiting PhD applications until 15th of January, 2026. More information on the attached flyer!
Read the freshly published article of our colleague, Anikó Csecserits, written in collaboration with our group lead and members, to learn about how Asclepias syriaca and Conyza canadensis traits fit into the regional plant trait space, and how their trait similarity and cover interacted to influence the occurrence of the rest of the species in the...
János Balogh (MATE Department of Plant Physiology and Plant Ecology, balogh.janos@uni-mate.hu)
Our group is busy taking measurements in the experimental tent. In this segment of our experiments, we are assessing the ability of native grassland plant species to outcompete invasive alien species. Moreover, we are testing the effect of various factors on the establishment of sown native and invasive communities, for example:
The Centre for Ecological Research has run a number of 'Kert a Köbön' events in the past few years. The title translates directly to "Garden to the power of three" to indicate that these events are a melting pot of three realms: garden-world, ecology and botany. More specifically: they are the perfect place for people to enjoy the beauty of...
