Stredné Pohornádie
On 14 July 2004 this area of 7,275.58 ha was recognised as an area of European significance due to the protection of habitats of European significance in accordance with Decree of the Ministry of Environment No.SRč.3/2004. Of that more than half the area is managed and exploited by Mestské lesy Košice,a.s. It covers the cadastral areas of: Kostoľany n. Hornádom, Košická Belá, Malá Lodina, Sokoľ, Veľká Lodina, Košické Hámre, Ružín, Kavečany, and Čermeľ. This location belongs to nature protection levels 2 to 5, based the level of its importance. It also covers the following national forest reserves: Humenec, Vozárska, Bokšov, Sivec and Vysoký Vrch.
List of habitats of European importance:
List of species of European importance:
Proposed measures relating to forest habitats:
Elimination of seral wood tree species or herbs and digging out old material
Elimination of invasive plant species
Restoration and creation of new nests and nesting bird habitats
Regulations of area visitation
Lengthening the period of wood cultivation Lengthening the period of regeneration
Low-impact methods of wood matter gathering (horses,cableways...)
Increasing the share of natural regeneration
Preservation or goal-directed regeneration of original types of wood growth
Reserveson the area of Mestské lesy Košice
National Nature Reserve Vozárska – area: 76.63ha; Cadastral area: Ružín
Recognised: 1966
Characteristics
Slovenské Rudohorie (Slovak Ore Mountains) – Hornád Valley, 500 to 738 m above sea-level, south-west slopes,10-15°.
Flora
The basic tree species of this well-preserved original grow this Fagus silvatica. Abies alba, Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus and Tilia platyphylla subsp. Euplatyphylla can also be found. Undergrowth is characterised by the following species of beech vegetationdegree: Carex silvatica, Lamium galeobdolon, Salvia glutinosa, Mercurialis perennis, Rubus caesius etc.
Preservation goals
Preservation of the western shoulder of Spálený Hill formed by the karsificated Jurassiccal cites of Čierna Hora (Black Mountain) with natural beech wood and fir-beech wood. This reserve forms the above-ground protection zone of CHPV Veľká Ružínska Jaskyňa. The protection zone of this reserve is 100m wide and follows the reserve around its circumference.
It is used for forestry research purposes.
National Nature Reserve Bokšov, area: 146.71ha; Cadastral area: Veľká Lodina
Recognised: 1954, revised in 1988
Characteristics
Slovenské Rudohorie (Slovak Ore Mountains) (Spiš part) – ridge of Ostrý Hrad (Ostrý Castle) and north-east calcareous steep slopes (25-40°) ending in the Hornád Valley, elevation ranges from 350-810 m above sea-level
Flora
This natural reserve is the northern most area with Cotinus coggygria representing the remains of previous warm periods. Wood growth is formed by Fagus silvatica, someAcer pseudoplatanus, Acer platanoides, Quercus pubescens, Fraxinus ornus, etc. Another fact worth mentioning is the presence of a Mediterranean fly Calophyarhois in the family of Homoptera, the existence of which is related to the occurrence of Cotinus coggygria.
Preservation goals
Preservation of the northern slopes of calcareous Holica a cliffy ridge with thermophilic rocky biocenoses; apart from a large number of registered species, smoke tree (Cotynus coggygria) can also be found here.
National Nature Reserve Humenec, area: 86.08ha; Cadastral area: Veľká Lodina
Recognised: 1953, revised in1988
Characteristics
Čierna Hora (Black Mountain) – wide and rounded 20-30° steep slope, from south-west to south-east 460-613 m above sea-level, limestone
Flora
Wood growth consists mainly of Fagus silvatica and Quercus petraea. The both wood species have grown primarily from sprout shoots and are mixed with: Carpinus betulus, Quercus pubescens, Quercus cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Acer pseudoplatanus. The following species can be found in the forest and on the forest-steppic open growth areas: Brachypodium pinnatum, Carex humilis, Sesleria calcaria, Aster linosyris, Festuca duriuscula, Festuca pseudodalmatica, Betonica officinalis, Calamintha clinopodium, Teucrium montanum, Potentilla arenaria, Poa nemoralis, Melitis melisophylum. For many tree species this is their northernmost presence in Eas tSlovakia.
Preservation goals
Preservation of oak forests formed by Downy Oak (Quercus pubescens), Turkey Oak(Quercus cerris), Manna Ash(Fraxinus ornus), White Dittany and other registered/listed plant species and many thermophilic plant species, for many of which this is their northernmost occurrence.
National Nature Reserve Sivec, area:169.79ha; Cadastral area: Košická Belá
Recognised:1954, revised in1988
Characteristics
Slovenské Rudohorie (Slovak Ore Mountains) (Spiš part) – a geomorphologically noticeable calcareous cliff rising from the deep Hornád Valley above Ružín Reservoir 781m above sea-level, with 30-45° steep slopes overgrown by forest. The area of Sivec National Nature Reserve forms a part of Čierna Hora orographic complex located in the cadastral area of Košická Belá, on the right side of the Košické Hámre - Malá Lodina road. The summit of this cliff offers a fantastic view of the deep Hornád Valley.
Flora
The wood growth of this reserve covers the following forest types: typical beech forests (Fagetum typicum), beech forests of nudum type (Fagetum pauper), calcareous beech forests (Fagetum dealpinum), maple-bass wood forests (Tilieto-Aceretum) and calcareous pine wood forests (Pinetum dealpinum). The above trees pecies are mixed with Fagus silvatica, Quercus petraea, Abies alba, Acer pseudoplatanus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia platyphylla ssp. grandifolia, Larix decidua and occasionally with Quercus pubescens and Taxus baccata. The scrubs in this area comprise Sorbus torminalis, Sorbus aria, Spiraea media, Rhamnus cathartica, Euonymus verrucosa and Grossularia uva-crispa. Very special in terms of its flora is the ridge part of the summit, where Waldsteinia ternata (the most northern place of its presence in Slovakia) grows. The summit cliff has been known for its exceptionally rich and varied flora of mountainous, of de- and pre-alpine and expressly thermophilic type, forming a mosaic of rocky phytocenoses and communities with Sasleria calcaria and Festuca glauca.
Preservation goals
Preservation of natural beech forests and scree maple forest communities with rich undergrowth of mountain and thermophilic flora
National Nature Reserve Bujanov, area:88.17ha; Cadastral area: Ružín
Recognised:1966
Characteristics
Čierna Hora (Black Mountain) – Hornád Valley, from south-east to south-west 15-25° steep slopes, 575-765m above sea-level, gneiss
Flora
One of the most important locations of Quercus petraea in Slovakia, with tree material of exceptionally high quality. There can also be found tree types such as Fagus silvatica, Carpinus betulus, valuable deciduous trees, and occasionally also Abies alba and Picea excelsa. It is an important source of information for comparing predominantly beech and oak forests and for studying the impact of tree species on soil and growth microclimate.
Preservation goals
Preservation of exceptionally productive growths of Sessile Oak with a mixture of thermophilic and mountain flora; the protection zone is100m wide and follows the circumference of the Reserve. It is used for forestry research purposes.
The history of Košice has been closely linked tothe extensive forests around it. The oldest references to the ownership of forest lands around the city date from the 13th century. For many years the economic use of these forests was connected with mining and metallurgy, practiced in the region of Košice. Košice's forest lands became the largest piece of city property in the Hungarian Kingdom. With its area of 19,432 ha, it is currently the second largest piece of forest property in Central Europe.
