Itt - Magyar Talajtani Társaság

Várallyay
Summary
Soil is the most important – conditionally renewable – natural resource in Hungary.
Consequently, the rational and sustainable use, protection and conservation of soil resources –
maintaining their multifunctionality – are priority tasks of biomass production and environment
protection and are key elements of sustainable development. Human society uses (and
sometimes misuses) more and more soil functions, utilizing two specific and unique soil
characteristics: fertility and resilience.
Under the integrated influence of the highly variable soil forming factors a rather
heterogeneous, sometimes mosaic-like soil cover developed in Hungary. The comprehensive
Hungarian soil database represents proper scientific basis for rational land use and soil
management.
The natural conditions in Hungary (particularly in the lowlands and plains) are generally
favourable for rainfed biomass production. These conditions, however, show extremely high,
irregular, consequently hardly predictable spatial and temporal variability, often extremes, and
sensitively react to various natural or human-induced stresses. The main constraints are:
1. Soil degradation processes.
2. Extreme moisture regime: simultaneous hazard of flood, waterlogging, over-moistening
and drought sensitivity.
3. Unfavourable changes in the biogeochemical cycles of elements, especially of plant
nutrients and environmental pollutants.
The harmful consequences of the undesirable soil degradation processes can be prevented
or at least moderated on the basis of real prognoses, sensitivity and stress tolerance analyses.
Water resources are limited in Hungary. The annual precipitation, surface and subsurface water
resources will not be more in the future. Just in contrary, the probability, frequency, duration and
seriousness of extreme meteorological/hydrological situations and their harmful consequences will
increase. Water will be the key factor of sustainable biomass production, agricultural and rural
development and environment protection. Under such conditions it is an important fact that soil is
the largest potential natural water reservoir in Hungary. In many cases, however, the efficient
use of this huge potential water storage capacity is limited either by slow infiltration or poor water
retention, and it results in extreme hydrological events such as flood, waterlogging, overmoistening
or drought with their unfavourable consequences. The basic aim of soil moisture control
is: to help infiltration into the soil and to increase water storage within the soil in plant-available
form. Most of these measures are efficient elements of environment protection.
The efficient control of soil processes is the proper answer of up-to-date soil science to the
new challenges towards sustainable soil resource management.
Bevezetés
Talajkészleteink ésszerő és fenntartható használata, védelme és sokoldalú funkcióképességének
fenntartása az élet alapvetı minıségének (megfelelı mennyiségő és minıségő
élelmiszer; „tiszta” víz; kellemes környezet) biztosítása céljából olyan össztársadalmi
érdek, ami nemcsak a földtulajdonos és földhasználó, hanem az állam és az
egész társadalom részérıl megkülönböztetett figyelmet érdemel, átgondolt és összehangolt
intézkedéseket tesz szükségessé. A talaj csak így tud a kor új kihívásaira reagálni,
azoknak megfelelni.
A talaj jelentısége, funkciói
Az egyéb természeti kincsekben szegény Magyarország legjelentısebb feltételesen
megújuló (megújítható) természeti erıforrását talajkészleteink képezik (CSETE,
VÁRALLYAY, 2004; VÁRALLYAY, 2010). A talaj, ésszerő és szakszerő használata so-
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