Natural and Cultural Landscape of Danube Region

Description

The locality is represented by forest ecosystems classified in following vegetation units: the vegetation unit if floodplain willow-poplar forests occurring on Holocene river floodplains in the warm Pannonian region including high willow-poplar forests with the most frequent occurrence of Salicetum triandrae and Salici-Populetum associations (Tx. 1931) Somsak, L. Kubicek, F., 1995; the vegetation unit of lowland floodplain forests on alluvial sediments in the proximity of watercourses, which include phytocenoses of hygrophyte and partially mesohygrophyte elm-ash and oak-ash forest communities classified with Carici (acutiformis-ripariae) - Fraxineturn angustifoliae associations, Berta 1970; and Fraxino pannonicae-Ulmetum associations; Somsak, 1995 (synonym of Fraxino-Ulmetum (T^-. 1952), geographical variant pannoncam, Berta 1970 and alder or willow-alder forest stands Alneta inferiors pannonica and Salici fragilis - Aineta inferiora pannonica as a typical representative of wetland forest stands (Kukla, J. - Krn66ova, Z., et al., 1997). A preserved complex of inundated meadows of subcontinental character (vegetation alliance Cnidion venosl) occur in the Morava river floodplain, fixed to a warm climatic region. This locality is a very important area for waterfowl biotopes and for birds migration with the high species diversity of following animal groups: Aves, Osteichthyes, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Aranea, Coleoptera and Amphibians. The occurrence of the above-mentioned natural communities is connected with ecological conditions, where at least one of floodplain dynamic's factors applies: either surface inundations or groundwater influence. Morava (the natural region) - the subcontinental vegetation alliance Cnidion dubii, 24 rare and endangered plant species (Ruzickova, 1994), forest communities in inundation area SaliciPopuletum and Fraxino pannonicae-Ulmetum (Somsak et ai., 1995, Jarolimek, 1994, Michalko et al., 1986); 215 bird species (Hors, Kanuch et al., 1992), 60 heliophil butterflies species (Rhopalocera), of these 11 species are endangered (Kulfan, Kalivoda, 1994), 13 species of amphibians in the inundated area and 7 species in retention space (Kminiak, 1994); a successful reintroduction of Castor sp. Linnaeus in Slovakia - in the Zahorie lowland. Danube (natural region) - 292 bird species (Kalivodova, Darolova; 1998), the highest number of fresh water fish with regard to other central European sections of the river - 55 fish taxons (Kirka, 1995), 26 species of terrestrial molluscs and 19 species of water molluscs (Cejka, 1995), 262 taxons of Ciliophora (Matis, Tirjakova, 1994). CULTURAL REGION DESCRIPTION Very suitable natural conditions of the floodplain of the Danube - the European big river - determined the settlement of various ethnic groups in different time periods. Many well-preserved fragments in various forms were found, from archaeological structures of prehistoric period up to material monuments of the hundreds years lasting town-creation process with enclaves of agricultural and forest management improvements of the natural landscape (archaeological monuments, town architectural elements and village architectural cultural-historical elements, semi-natural and cultural-historical elements - agricultural, forest management and ornamental-horticultural elements). MORAVA AND DANUBE- THE CULTURAL REGION -4th century - influence of the Forman-barbarian culture - remnants of the direct impact of the Roman provincial; Pannonian culture - so called limes romanus on the natural border - Iza - Bratislava - Dubravka, Devin; the military camp Gerulata with the adjacent non-military settlement - Bratislava - Rusovce. -5th and 6th century - population by Slavs, -8th century - remnant of Slavic settlements documented by the first hillforts related to tribe organisation later on over-tribal formations were created - so called hillfort towns; -9th century - formation of the system of fortified settlements - e.g. Devin in Bratislava -10th to 13th century - the economic bloom of towns in proximity of fortified strategic points - at the bottom of castles, which in the 14th and 15th centuries had the ground plan and building structure with preserved objects of historical architecture registered as historical reserves; -16th century - the influence of the renaissance architectural composition can be found mainly in Bratislava -17th century - the influence of the new style is reflected in the sacral art - sacral monuments - Samorin; -Manor houses with parks - Stupava, Malacky, the settlement from the period of Maria Theresa in Holic; -Hallstat and La Tene (later period of the Iron Age) findings in sandstone hills near Kuty, Malacky, Zohor and Cácov; -the largest finding site of the so called Slavic settlements of the marshy type on the left bank of the Morava river from Skalica to the Devin lake and in the Myjava river basin from Kúty to Jablonica - 68 finding sites of this type of Slavic settlements.