Get to Know Us! Part 3

The ecologist expert of the 10 Million Trees community is a staff member of the Ecological Research Center. One of her main areas of interest is the study of untouched, primeval forest-like stands. She is a trained yoga instructor, mother of two, and an enthusiastic resident of Buda. She often attends the 10 Million Trees plantings and events with her family, along with the indispensable Tesla, the energetic spaniel.

– You recently returned from Rwanda and Australia. Is the life of a forest ecologist really this exciting?

Partly due to Covid, there were no conferences for two years, so our schedule suddenly became busier.

In Rwanda, we attended a conservation conference (ICCB 2023) where we learned about many African issues and potential solutions, on topics such as the protection of lions and other large animals with the involvement of locals. We also had the opportunity to meet representatives of the Dian Fossey Foundation in person. Dian Fossey, the American ethologist, is famous for her determined efforts and fearless dedication to protecting the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and it is thanks to her that this wonderful species was saved from extinction. The foundation has a large following in the country, with a particular focus on ensuring that many women are among its employees.

In Australia, we participated in the tenth World Congress on Ecological Restoration this September, where we also learned a great deal.

This way of thinking and implementation is racing ahead at Ferrari speed there, while in Hungary, this knowledge is still in its infancy, and only a few people understand what ecological restoration truly means. In Hungarian, we mostly translate it as habitat restoration, referring to the process of helping to restore a degraded or destroyed habitat.

– When not attending conferences, what does the life of a forest ecologist involve?

My work stands on several pillars: managing a LIFE project that started in 2017 and will last for ten years (LIFE 4 Oak Forest project) is my main task, where we are working on developing conservation forest management methods in oak forests with several national parks – the Bükk, Balaton Uplands, and Danube-Ipoly National Park Directorates – as well as with WWF Hungary, the Érmellék Nature Conservation Multipurpose Association, and the Italian Ente di gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità-Romagna conservation organization.

Conservation forest management differs from economic forest management in that its goal is not to achieve economic profit but to preserve and restore natural forest habitats.

During the treatments, we strive to create forest stands with diverse structures and species compositions that provide habitats for forest plants, animals, and fungi, thereby increasing biodiversity and ultimately developing a healthy ecosystem.

Conservation interventions also include the eradication of invasive plants, which are replaced with mixed species. Creating various forms of deadwood is central to these interventions, which is one of my passions, as about half of forest organisms are associated with deadwood at some stage of their life cycle.

We can say that the more diverse and varied the relationships present in the forest, the better they strengthen the “immune system” and stability of ecosystems, meaning the forest becomes more resilient to the increasingly intense environmental changes. Such a project involves a lot of administration and management, which takes up most of my time.

The second aspect I would mention is scientific article writing, which is ongoing and is the key to a researcher’s success. Additionally, building a network is important, both through international conferences and projects, as well as with domestic forestry, conservation, and ecology colleagues.

– And what is your role in 10 Million Trees?

Over the past four years, my main task has been to represent ecological knowledge, which we have tried to channel into 10 Million Trees with other experts. Of course, this should not be imagined as a Holy Grail that can be instantly transferred or that there are ready-made answers, but rather as a continuous collective learning process.

With the other two expert colleagues (forestry technician Balázs Bozzay and horticultural engineer Balázs Zsolnay), we found common ground from the very first meeting. Without having known each other before, the three of us sat down together and said, “Okay, let’s start with the basics – what trees do we plant, where do we plant, how do we plant, and when do we plant?” 

Obviously, I represented the ecological aspects of this, while the other two colleagues brought in their own perspectives, but these were very much in harmony, and this formed the basis of the first professional material. This was a very strong starting point, and I felt that we were pushing at open doors; there was no need to convince anyone why this was important. 

Later on, the importance of ecological restoration also came through, and we are applying it in more and more of our projects, mostly on a “learning by doing” basis, as there is very little forest restoration activity in Hungary: while there is invasive species removal and tree planting in national parks, few projects meet most of the criteria for habitat restoration. 

For example, one important criterion is that such activities involve the local population. Our plantings in Nyim and Dombfalva are excellent examples of this. In Dombfalva, it was very interesting how the local owner’s will intertwined with a permaculture mindset and the aspects of ecological restoration.

The EU wants to support complex restoration activities at a very high level and establish a strong knowledge base. I would like to ride this wave to carry out complex landscape rehabilitation projects, within which we restore forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
 

– Can we talk about restoration nowadays, or should we be planting completely different species due to climate change?

There is a lot of debate about this, with various theories in play. We still don’t really know what will happen, but we do know that there are several tools available to strengthen the stability of forests. What we regularly apply in 10 Million Trees is enhancing the habitat’s resistance and resilience, which we support in two ways: by planting a variety of tree and shrub species and by setting a high proportion of drought-tolerant species.

– An article featuring you appeared in Glamour, and in 2021 you received the most audience votes and became the Marie Claire Go Green ambassador. I have two questions related to this: do you think women are more sensitive to the topics of climate change and environmental protection? 

And what does an average reader “take away” from an interview with a forest ecologist, what gets through?

The message we use greatly depends on what the given community is sensitive to. When it comes to the future of our children, this is something that certainly resonates with mothers. 

As for the second question: I have given many interviews, and I always try to tailor them to whom I am speaking. 

There are times when, as a forest ecologist, I specifically talk about my work, and in these cases, I mainly want to emphasize how infinitely complex a forest is, so that after the interview, people look at a forest differently. 

An important message is that the trees in a forest are not independent entities but form a community; there is strong communication between the trees in the forest with the help of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. If we destroy this and, for example, plant a plantation in its place, it is entirely different from a real, natural forest. 

I have also had many interviews—especially after major disasters, extensive forest fires—when everyone asked the question, okay, but what can they personally do against climate change. In such cases, I do not speak as a forest ecologist but as someone who has thought a lot about how to reduce their footprint, how to be a responsible citizen, what they can do to make a change. 

Basically, I usually suggest that people be conscious and look at what they can change in their various areas of life—finances, eating, traveling, dressing, waste management, etc.—and change what they can. 

Examples include choosing a responsible, community bank, reducing meat and dairy consumption, preferring organic foods, buying second-hand clothes, using bicycles, public transport, selective collection, zero-waste stores, etc. 

At the same time, I would not recommend going in the direction of an eco-ascetic lifestyle. Individual responsibility is important, but it pales in comparison to the responsibility of politicians and large corporations, so I believe one of the most important tasks of the individual is to participate in shaping the opinions of decision-makers.

Read the other parts of our Get to Know Us! series: 

Franciska Hervai – Chief Coordinator
Dénes, the Problem Solver!