Natural Treasures

Dominant and distinguished beech giants with their silvery trunks attract the attention, not only with their beauty, but with their sizes as well. It is well worth observing the birds, the insects and the rare mushroom species which are given their natural habitat in the ancient beech-woods – the foliage closing quite high, the trunk and the bark, and the soil rich in nutrients. The forest reserve can thank its speciality and its beauty to that certain sub-Mediterranean effects predominate the continental climate of the area and the soil of the forest with luvisols provide excellent living conditions to the forest. No forest farming activities have been carried out in the beech reservation for more than 40 years so everything you can see there has been formed by the nature. Previously, however, until 1984 foresters of those days carried out professional tasks that were appropriate for the age and the status of the woods. The age of the tree population exceeds 190 years; some trees draw your attention with their large sizes. The old fallen-out trees remain on the area of the woods.

The establishment of the ancient beech-woods had two different purposes: the lonely woods are the venue of scientific research (growth, destruction, changes in the number of trunks without human intervention etc.); on the other hand, it is a spectacular sight which can be visited both by professional people and by the public. Besides the Ancient Beech-woods in Vétyem our nationally protected areas can be found in two forest reservations (Csörnyeberek, Recluse Garden), and in the Nature Reserve of Szentgyörgyvölgy. Our locally protected area is the Arboretum in Budafa, the Scotch fir woods in Kerkakutas, the beech-woods in Pölöske and the Azalea-Valley in the Lower Forest in Zalaegerszeg. All protected areas take 3133 hectares. The findings of some periodic research and surveys carried out by the colleagues of the Forestry Science and Technology Institute (Erdészeti Tudományos Intézet) (ERTI) are delineated on boards in the forest, comparing the findings of the boards can mean a lot of curiosity even to experts. After studying the measured data both the importance of silviculture and the appropriate time of logging will become obvious immediately; as large values might get lost in the lonely forest.