Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Dunajské luhy; literally Danube Floodplains PLA) is one of the youngest of the 14 protected landscape areas in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. The Landscape Area consists of five separate parts in the

Danube Lowland ::''The Serbian lowland is treated under Danube Plain (Serbia)'' The Danubian Lowland or Danube Lowland () is the name of the part of Little Alföld (Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'') situated in Slovakia, located between the Danube, the Litt ...

, stretching from Bratislava in the north west, following the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and the borders between Slovakia and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

to a river island called ''Veľkolélsky ostrov'' in

Komárno District Komárno District ( sk, okres Komárno, hu, Komáromi járás) is a district in the Nitra Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Komárom county within the Kingdom of Hungary. The district has a populati ...

. The biggest part is Žitný ostrov, the largest river island in Europe. The area is situated in three regions – Bratislava,

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...

and

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...

. Altogether, it protects 122.84 km² (47.43 mi²) of

floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, wetlands and numerous water bodies, such as lakes,

oxbow lakes An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are calle ...

ponds A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from t ...

, and streams. Dunajské luhy PLA contains diverse flora and fauna, including

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species, living in

riparian zones A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

Geography

The first part (farthest north) starts south of the

Slovnaft Slovnaft is an oil refining company in Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukra ...

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

in south east Bratislava on the left side of the Danube, and it extends to the reservoir at the Čunovo waterworks. The second part is situated south west of the first one, on the right side of the Danube, near the boroughs of

Rusovce Rusovce ( hu, Oroszvár, hr, Rosvar german: Karlburg, Rossenburg, Kerchenburg) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border. History In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement n ...

and

Čunovo Čunovo ( hr, Čunovo, hu, Dunacsún, Duna-Csún, ) is a small part of Bratislava, Slovakia, in the southern area near the Hungarian border. It is located close to the Gabčíkovo - Nagymaros Dams. History Čunovo was first mentioned as a vil ...

. The third, largest part protects the island situated between the Danube and the border with Hungary. This area is protected almost entirely, except for the built up areas, the villages of Dobrohošť,

Vojka nad Dunajom Vojka nad Dunajom ( hu, Vajka, ) is a village and municipality in the Dunajská Streda District in the Trnava Region of south-west Slovakia. History In the 9th century, the territory of Vojka nad Dunajom became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. I ...

and Bodíky and the levee alongside the Danube. The fourth area, located on the right side of the Danube, starts at the village of

Sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

, borders the villages of

Medveďov Medveďov ( hu, Medve, ) is a border village and municipality in the Dunajská Streda District in the Trnava Region of south-west Slovakia. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 111 metres and covers an area of 10.388 km². The ...

and

Číčov Číčov ( hu, Csicsó, ) is a village and municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 113 metres and covers an area of 29.503 km2. It has a population of ...

and ends at the village of

Klížska Nemá Klížska Nemá ( hu, Kolozsnéma, pronounced: ) is a village and municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 115 metres and covers an area of 11.807 km². I ...

. The last fifth part is located on the ''Veľkolélsky ostrov'' island, which ends in the east near the village of Zlatná na Ostrove.

Biology and ecology

The whole area of the Dunajské luhy PLA is listed as the site number 605 in the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands.

Flora

Aquatic plants are represented by many rare and protected species, such as the

European white waterlily ''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir). Descrip ...

, yellow water-lily, ''

Salvinia natans ''Salvinia natans'' (commonly known as floating fern, floating watermoss, floating moss, or commercially, water butterfly wings) is an annual floating aquatic fern, which can appear superficially similar to moss. It is found throughout the worl ...

'',

water chestnut Water chestnut may refer to either of two plants (both sometimes used in Chinese cuisine): * The Chinese water chestnut ('' Eleocharis dulcis''), eaten for its crisp corm * The water caltrop The water caltrop is any of three extant species of th ...

, ''

Nymphoides peltata ''Nymphoides peltata'' (syn. ''Villarsia nymphaeoides'', ''Limnanthemum peltatum'' S.G. Gmel., ''Nymphoides nymphaeoides'' (L.) Britton, fringed water lily, yellow floating heart, floating heart, water fringe, entire marshwort) is perennial, root ...

'' and others. Meadows are home to

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, for example, '' Orchis coriophora'' (bug orchid), Military orchid,

green-winged orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid ( synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East. Description It f ...

, ''

Epipactis helleborine ''Epipactis helleborine'', the broad-leaved helleborine, is a terrestrial species of orchid with a broad distribution. It is a long lived herb which varies morphologically with ability to self-pollinate. Description ''Epipactis helleborine'' can ...

'',

lesser butterfly-orchid ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus ''Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus ''Habenar ...

, and others. The floodplains are covered with

willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s, ashes,

elms Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

, poplars, European hornbeams, and dogwoods.

Fauna

Fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

is also influenced by a wide variety of biotopes in the Landscape Area. For instance, it contains 109 species of

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

, of which 22 are protected, hundreds of

true bugs Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

, for example the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Thinobius korbeli
' from the

rove beetles The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, th ...

family. The

tundra vole The tundra vole (''Microtus oeconomus'') or root vole is a medium-sized vole found in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the western part of the Netherlands, the tundra ...

is one of the most notable little mammals living in this area. Dunajské luhy PLA is an important area for nesting and incubation of many

water birds A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

. Many rare species, such as the

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

, little egret and purple heron, nest there. The whole Slovak-Hungarian part of the Danube is listed as an Important Bird Area. The Danube and surrounding bodies of water contain the highest number of species of fish in Slovakia. Rare and protected species include the wild form of the common carp,
Umbra krameri
' (European mudminnow) from the order

Esociformes The Esociformes () are a small order of ray-finned fish, with two families, Umbridae and Esocidae. The pikes of genus '' Esox'' give the order its name. This order is closely related to the Salmoniformes, the two comprising the superorder Prot ...

,
Pelecus cultratus
' from the family Cyprinidae, and
Proterorhinus marmoratus
' (tubenose goby) from the

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

family.

Recreation

Recreational activities include swimming, fishing, hiking, and biking. The Danube Bike Trail situated on or at the Danube levee allows bicyclists to tour along the whole Landscape Area.

Popular culture

The region features in

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cri ...

's novella "

The Willows The Willows may refer to: Places * The Willows, El Paso, Texas, USA * The Willows, Queensland, a town in Australia * The Willows, Salford, home of Salford Rugby League club in Salford, England, UK * The Willows, Saskatoon, a residential community ...

References

Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area at The Slovak Nature Conservancy

External links

Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area
a
Slovakia.travel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunajske luhy Protected Landscape Area Protected areas of Slovakia Protected areas established in 1998 Floodplains of Europe Geography of Bratislava Region Geography of Trnava Region Geography of Nitra Region Tourist attractions in Bratislava Region Tourist attractions in Trnava Region Tourist attractions in Nitra Region Ramsar sites in Slovakia