Mártély

An oxbow lake of the river Tisza at Mártély

Mártély

  • Country: 
    Hungary
  • Site number: 
    186
  • Area: 
    2,247 ha
  • Designation date: 
    11-04-1979
  • Coordinates: 
    46°26'N 20°12'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Mártély covers a section of the River Tisza floodplain featuring oxbow lakes, wet meadows, arable land, scrub and woodland. It is an important breeding area for various waterbirds which are protected under Annex I of the European Union’s Birds Directive, such as the Eurasian bittern (Botaurus stellaris) and Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). The Site is also an important spawning and nursery ground for many fish species such as the threatened sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), and supports a large population of European otter (Lutra lutra).The floodplain plays an important role in flood control, sediment trapping and nutrient retention. Human activities include agriculture, forestry, commercial fisheries and recreation. The main threats to the Site’s ecological character are posed by the colonization of invasive tree species; planting of artificial hybrid poplar species is pushing the native black poplar (Populus nigra) to the verge of extinction in the region. A habitat restoration project has been ongoing since 2009 to restore wet meadows and eliminate exotic species, and a national biodiversity monitoring system for habitats and birds is in place.

Administrative region: 
Csongrád-Csanád county

  • National legal designation: 
    • landscape protection area - Mártély
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    11-11-2021

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents