Trail 4: In Two Countries on Two Wheels: Salonta-Békéscsaba

Highlights and points of interest:

• >> Natura 2000 network of protected areas
• >> Romania: Salonta Natura 2000 Site
• >> Hungary: Salt Steppes of Dél-Bihar, Gyepes Canal, Körösközi Forests, and Fekete-, Fehér- and Kettős-Körös Sites

The main aim of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas is to ensure the preservation of biodiversity and the long-term conservation of species and habitats threatened with extinction. 

These sites were designated to preserve (or restore to a favourable conservation status) either habitats or species of Community interest*, listed in the Annexes of the Habitats Directive.

Salonta Natura 2000 Site is under the administration of the Romanian National Agency for Protected Natural Areas, whereas Körös-Maros National Park Directorate is the custodian of the four areas in Hungary.

Salonta Natura 2000 Site has been designated as a Site of Community Importance, for the conservation of the European Ground Squirrel and the *Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes habitat (1530) - one of the 71 priority habitats within the European Community (with 233 habitats in total) listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive. 

This habitat accommodates halophytes or salt marsh plants - a category of plants well-adapted to the conditions of the Pannonian steppe - dry summers, extreme temperatures during the year, but also low concentration of humus and nitrogen in the soil.

Cover photo: Korhány stream in Gyepes Canal Natura 2000 Site, Hungary | © Körös-Maros National Park Directorate / Zoltán Sallai 

Trails in the Realm of the Great Bustards in Salonta | Copyright © Milvus Transilvania Vest Association, 2023. All rights reserved. Data source: Google © 2023 CNES / Airbus | © Maxar Technologies | © Airbus

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