Tarnavidéki Protected Landscape Area

The area of the Tarnavidéki Protected Landscape Area is 9 450 hectares, of which 536 hectares are intensively protected. The protected landscape area falls under the administration of the Bükki National Park Directorate.

Location

The protected landscape area is located north of Pétervására. It lies at the meeting point of Heves and Nógrád counties. It affects the administrative territories of the settlements Arló, Borsodszentgyörgy, Domaháza, Csernely, Bükkszenterzsébet, Istenmezeje, Szentdomonkos, Tarnalelesz, Váraszó and Hevesaranyos.

Characteristics

The Tarnavidéki Protected Landscape Area was established in 1993 to preserve the unique natural and landscape values of the Heves–Borsodi Hills, the habitats of sub-Mediterranean plant associations found in the area, and the breeding grounds of the imperial eagle that nests in the region. The area’s outstanding geological‑geomorphological and landscape values are the natural exposures of the limestone (Pétervására Limestone Formation) that forms the hilly region. The most spectacular is the nearly vertical 60–80 m high rock wall of Nagy-kő in Bükkszenterzsébet. Similarly impressive are the Pes‑kő rock walls rising at the junction of the Vermes Valley and the Lelesz Valley, as well as the high, steep rock slope of Szarvas‑kő Valley. The protected 184‑hectare area of uniquely beautiful glauconitic sandstones also includes ancient pine forest. For exhibition purposes, the Geological Institute has created a loess wall profile at the entrance of the road leading to Erzsébet Valley.

Important plant species

Currently, 28 plant families comprising 71 rare and endangered plant species have been recorded in the protected landscape area, of which 13 are protected and 13 are intensively protected. Among the intensively protected plant species, 3 are certainly extinct, one’s existence is uncertain, and four are threatened by imminent extinction.

Important animal species

The fauna of the area is little known. Only a few surveys of popular animal groups have begun in recent years. These have primarily targeted the vertebrate fauna, and numerous species of conservation significance have been identified within the protected landscape area.