The forested areas (i.e., semi-natural forests, secondary forests, and plantations) comprise approximately 22.8% of the land in Hungary, the majority of which (64%) is semi-natural temperate deciduous forest (forests dominated by Quercus petraea, Q. cerris, Carpinus betulus, and/or Fagus sylvatica) [28 (link),29 (link)]. Of the total forested area in Hungary, 11% is covered by pine plantations, and 25% is planted with Robinia pseudoacacia. According to 2021 data, Ailanthus altissima covered 0.11% of the total forested area in Hungary, while Elaeagnus angustifolia covered 0.08% (National Forestry Database 2021) [30 ]. Continuous forest cover is mainly found in the mountainous and hilly areas of the country, while in the Great Hungarian Plain, riparian forests are dominant along rivers (Figure 1 ), although sandy areas give rise to an unaccounted percentage of non-native plantations.
The climate of the Hungarian forests is wet–temperate with a mean annual temperature of 8.0–10.5 °C; and 500–700 mm average yearly precipitation [31 ]. The main soil types in hilly forest areas are brown forest soils, while rendzina soils are present in limestone mountain areas, and ranker soils are present in volcanic and metamorphic areas [32 ].
The climate of the Hungarian forests is wet–temperate with a mean annual temperature of 8.0–10.5 °C; and 500–700 mm average yearly precipitation [31 ]. The main soil types in hilly forest areas are brown forest soils, while rendzina soils are present in limestone mountain areas, and ranker soils are present in volcanic and metamorphic areas [32 ].
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