News
Mosquito monitoring through sound – implications for AI species recognition
AI algorithms are increasingly developed to monitor vector populations based on either photos or sounds. However, the real-life accuracy of the models is highly dependent on the training data. Unfortunately, training data is still limited, both […]
Reeds Over Concrete: Most People Want a Natural Lake Balaton
Researchers from the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research and the HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute* explored what different people value at Lake Balaton and its shores. Based on a survey of 1,500 people — including local […]
Boosting bees and other pollinators in Europe
New recommendations for EU restoration plans Policy Brief from the EU project RestPoll, provides recommendations on which renaturation measures are most effective in promoting pollinators, such as wild bees, in Europe. The key messages are more […]
New species, new challenges
Science-based popular booklet on the spread and management of invasive non-native species is now available The large-scale and continuous introduction of non-native species poses unprecedented challenges to ecosystems, agriculture, livestock production, and human health. In response […]
Ecosystem-service based green infrastructure developments
In 2025, a large-scale national project entitled “Foundations for the strategic planning of ecosystem services-based green infrastructure developments supported by regularly updated datasets” was launched in Hungary (ÖSZ-ZI, KEHOP_PLUSZ-3.2.2-24-2024-00002). The aim of the project is to […]
Why are some animal and human signals honest, while others are deceptive?
A new, general theory argues it is not about costly or exaggerated show-offs but about the inherent trade-offs between investments and benefits animals (and humans) face when they signal. The work offers a clearer way to […]
Traditional ecological knowledge without its holders: invisible stewards in global biodiversity policy
A new global study published with the defining authorship of HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany in Conservation Biology, the leading journal in the field, highlights that many governments still do not […]
Exclusion of wild ungulates is not the Holy Grail
A recent study authored with the significant contribution of the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany was published with this title in the D1-ranked journal Journal of Environmental Management. Based on a […]
The breath of grasslands, or the role of different carbon sources in grassland CO2 emissions
The ecological role of Hungarian grasslands is very diverse: they are important in maintaining biodiversity, but they also play a significant role in agricultural production, water retention, and soil protection. However, they also have a function […]
Small fields have big benefits for pollinators – but only with semi-natural habitats nearby
Pollinators, such as bumblebees, are essential providers of ecosystem services for agriculture, yet their numbers are declining due to landscape structure simplification and habitat loss. To explore this issue, an international research group led by Riho […]
Zsófia Horváth was elected for president of the European Pond Conservation Network
Small standing waters, ponds or (temporary) pools, are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. They are disappearing at an alarming rate due to climate change, intensive agriculture, and other anthropogenic pressures, resulting in the extinction of […]
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences has announced its ‘Momentum MSCA’ postdoctoral fellowship for the first time
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences has announced its ‘Momentum MSCA’ postdoctoral fellowship for the first time, enabling outstanding researchers to join the work of Lendület research groups for a period of 1–3 years. The MTA-ÖK Lendület […]
Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management
Pollinators receive considerable interest due to their fundamental role in ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Unlike farmlands, studies of urban pollinator-promoting interventions have only started to grow rapidly recently and have not yet been synthesised, hampering […]
Increasingly Severe Droughts Will Claim Even Our Most Drought-Tolerant Native Grasses
According to researchers at the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, many perennial grasses that had adapted to ‘normal’ drought conditions perished in the open sandy grasslands of the Kiskunság during the extreme droughts that have become […]
Researchers Join Forces to Create a Greener, More Sustainable Danube Region
The CLIMANATRES project aims to support the cross-border coordination of habitat restoration efforts along the Sava and Danube rivers through science-based decision-support tools. One of the project’s lead partners is the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research. […]
Unlocking the hidden biodiversity of Europe’s villages
Villages, often separated from larger towns and cities, consist of clusters of households and a few public buildings. Despite their long history, the biodiversity of European villages has been understudied compared to urban areas, forests, grasslands, […]
Sowing native species is effective against annual invasive plants, but permanent control of perennials remains a challenge in sandy grasslands
The Restoration Ecology Research Group of HUN-REN, CER-IEB conducted long-term monitoring of vegetation changes over a period of 17 to 25 years at three restoration experiments in the Kiskunság, Hungary. These sites underwent different restoration treatments, […]
Bacteria Used Oxygen Long Before Widespread Photosynthesis
Niels Bohr, the Nobel laureate in Physics and father of the atomic model, is famously supposed to have said, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” Our uncertainty about whether he actually said […]
