Mura-menti Tájvédelmi Körzet

The area of the Mura-menti Landscape Protection Zone is 1,904 hectares. The landscape protection zone falls under the administration of the Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate.

Location

On the southwestern edge of Zala County, the winding Mura River forms a border line between Hungary and Croatia from the mouth of the Kerka to the confluence with the Dráva. The area located between the state border and the pronounced southwestern edge of the Zala Hills is the Mura floodplain. It is one of the newest landscape protection zones of the Austrian‑Slovenian‑Hungarian Mura River’s Hungarian section, which together with the Dráva constitutes a unique natural floodplain in Europe, where the rivers themselves can freely shape their meandering channels, build shoals and islands, erode banks, separate dead arms, and enliven the landscape. The valuable habitats thus formed have remained relatively natural, as the border strip was a militarily closed area for almost fifty years.

Characteristics

After the turn of the millennium, the landscape protection zone was first established in 2007 by the Minister of Environment and Water Management’s decree 10/2007. (III.30.) KvVM.

The Hungarian Mura valley is geologically divisible into two well‑separated sections: an upper section between Muraszemenye and Letenye, and a lower section between Letenye and Murakeresztúr, where the river already moves away from the hills, its floodplain widens and forms characteristic terraces. Its bedrock consists of gravel deposits, which were accumulated in the ancient Mura’s former channel. After almost every major flood the river changes its channel, and there is scarcely any place in the valley that has never become a Mura channel. On the gravel deposits, cast soils of varying thickness and compact structure have developed, and all main types of these soils are found here.

Flora and Fauna

Because of the Mura’s small water volume and the continuous migration of its channel, the classic zonation of riparian floodplain vegetation is less pronounced than in our larger rivers. Moving away from the channel, the bands of individual plant associations are narrow or cannot be discerned at all due to the mosaic‑like soil conditions. On the inner, built side of the bends, gravel shoals that have risen above the water surface remain without vegetation for a short time, and are almost immediately colonized by seeds carried by the water. Directly at the edge of the channel, a narrow strip of swamp vegetation (sedges, broad‑leaf bulrush) has formed, but this is missing in many places. On the river deposits, shoals, the edges of larger dead arms, and even alongside some gravel pits, shrub‑willows appear. These are most closely linked to the processes caused by flood waves and water‑level changes. Their most valuable pioneer species is the riparian willow. In the floodplain, the most extensive associations are the soft‑wooded meadow forests. On the banks, early spring the snowdrop and meadow starflower bloom. In May‑June scattered, smaller patches of summer thistle can be seen. On the banks of streams and some dead arms, alder meadows occur, and in the deeper, stagnant water areas, alder swamps are found. A characteristic protected plant is the slender shield‑fern; the ash willow is also present, its seeds probably brought by the water from the upper reaches of the river. In higher‑lying parts of the floodplain, hard‑wooded meadow forests occur, characteristically with Hungarian oak. Their habitat has unfortunately receded, as the construction of flood‑protection embankments has raised the level of floods. Their valuable assemblages include the broad‑leaf meadow‑grass in bloom. On the hill slopes, vast continuous areas are covered by Illyrian beech forests, whose typical soft‑stem species are Zala beech, wolf‑thorn, turban lily and burnt‑root.)

The Mura River basin is among the fortunate areas where the natural and natural-like forests have not been replaced by poplar plantations, and the forest stock to this day consists predominantly of native tree species appropriate to the habitat. The dead arms formed by the meandering of the rivers are at various stages of the filling process and represent especially important habitats. In the established algal associations the white fairy rose and the sallow are widely ornamented, the protected plant of the floating algae is the water crowfoot. On the remaining peat layers and mowing layers the meat-colored marsh cinquefoil and the Siberian lady's mantle are still present today.

Among the invertebrates, the dragonfly fauna is the best studied. Two rare species live in the dead branches, the tufted dragonfly and the red dragonfly. In addition to the more common butterfly species, the Hungarian theatrical butterfly also appeared. The composition of beetle species is less known, but a protected running beetle, the winged water beetle, which is disappearing in our country, lives here. More than 50 fish species have been recorded in the Mura and its water system, of which 13 species are protected, 6 endemic. One of the three domestic breeding sites of the spotted turtle is the Mura. The Lapp spider lives in the dead branches together with the marsh beetle, the water boatman and the meadow skipper on the same habitat. The other three species of the skipper live in open water, such as the flow‑loving Hungarian roach, the female conger and the silky dace. Among the reptiles, the marsh turtle can be observed in the dead branches, and the water skink can be encountered everywhere. The bird fauna is relatively poor except during migration periods, but it plays a more significant role for migratory birds in autumn and spring. Before leaving the country, grey herons and great cormorants gather in flocks at the gravel pit ponds and dead branches. The black stork nests in the least disturbed patches of the floodplain forests. The meadow pipistrelle is present all year round. Small swallows and water pipits breed on the dead branches, but in places a pair of bearded swans can also be observed. We can see the traces of the otter, and the beaver has also appeared in the area in the past decade.