ABSTRACT
Hungary belongs to the regions of Europe having the highest biodiversity. The diversity of flora and fauna is especially high due to the multiple biogeographic effects and the species dispersal processes during and after the glacial period. Most of the threats to biodiversity are dependent on human activities. An ecological footprint is a measure of the overall human pressure on nature as it shows how much land and water area are necessary for a given human population to produce the resources and to absorb its wastes, using prevailing technology. The Hungarian Biodiversity Monitoring System monitors five invasive alien plant species (Ailanthus altissima, Amorpha fruticosa, Asclepias syriaca, Solidago gigantea, Solidago canadensis) at the landscape, community and population levels since 1998. In Hungary, the law on animal breeding regulates the conservation of native and endangered domestic animal breeds and considers this task as a state responsibility.
