# Puszta

In Hungarian language, puszta is a perjorative word, it means bare flat area without trees and vegetation, and due to the infertile or dry soil which is completely unsuitable for agriculture, and therefore not inhabited by human population. The word is also used in Hungarian to describe deserts, or the ice covered Arctic or Antarctic, as well as semi-desert savanna landscapes. It can also mean an area affected by war or a serious natural or industrial disaster.
The Hungarian puszta (Hungarian pronunciation:) is a temperate grassland biome of the Great Hungarian Plain.$^{:66}$ It is an exclave of the Pannonian Steppe, and lies mainly around the River Tisza in the eastern part of Hungary, as well as in the western part of the country and in the Burgenland of Austria.
It covers a total area of about 50,000 km$^2$ (19,000 sq mi).$^{:1781}$ The characteristic landscape is composed of treeless plains, saline steppes and salt lakes, and includes scattered sand dunes, low, wet forests and freshwater marshes along the floodplains of the ancient rivers.$^{:1781}$ It is strongly associated with traditional Hungarian breeds of domestic animal including the Hungarian Grey breed of cattle, the Mangalitsa breed of woolly pig, the Nonius breed of horse and the Racka breed of horned sheep,$^{:78}$ and also with the traditions of the csikós mounted herdsmen.$^{:77}$

## Name

The adjective puszta has meanings including 'abandoned', 'bare', 'bleak', 'deserted' and 'uninhabited'.$^{:565}$
A large, mostly treeless, grassy plain which can only be used for grazing livestock, as the poor quality of the soil makes it unsuitable for agricultural activity

## History

From the late Pleistocene era the landscape of the Alföld or Great Hungarian Plain consisted in large part of arid alkaline grasslands devoid of trees – the puszta. The extent of the puszta over much of the Alföld was drastically reduced by the extensive drainage and irrigation works carried out during the nineteenth century, and it survives principally in the Hortobágy National Park, established in 1972 in eastern Hungary and centred on the village of Hortobágy in Hajdú-Bihar County.

### The Transformation of the Alföld's Sandy Deserts: From Ottoman Conquest to Ecological Catastrophe

The Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld), once characterized by dense forests and fertile landscapes, underwent a dramatic transformation into sandy, semi-arid "puszta" regions during and after the Ottoman occupation (16th–17th centuries). This shift exemplifies how geopolitical upheaval—the Ottoman conquest—exacerbated environmental degradation, turning a human-made crisis into a long-term ecological disaster.

#### Historical Context: Ottoman Conquest as a Catalyst

The Ottoman invasion of Hungary (1526) destabilized the region’s socio-economic structures. Depopulation due to warfare, forced migration, and the collapse of traditional land management systems left vast areas abandoned. Forests, previously maintained by local communities for timber, fuel, and soil stability, were no longer sustainably managed. The Ottoman military contributed to deforestation by clearing trees for fortifications, while the decline in agricultural activity allowed unregulated grazing and soil exposure.

#### Deforestation and Desertification

1. Military and Economic Pressures:
Ottoman-Habsburg border conflicts led to scorched-earth tactics, destroying forests to deny resources to enemies. Additionally, Ottoman taxation policies encouraged short-term exploitation of resources, such as logging for revenue, rather than sustainable practices.
2. Overgrazing and Soil Erosion:
With traditional farming disrupted, pastoralism became dominant. Sheep and cattle overgrazed the vegetation, stripping the land of stabilizing grasses. Combined with the removal of tree cover, this exposed the Alföld’s loess soils to wind and water erosion, mobilizing sand beneath the topsoil.
3. Hydrological Changes:
The neglect of river management systems (e.g., canals and drainage) worsened flooding and sedimentation, further altering the landscape.
By the 18th century, large swathes of the Alföld had become barren "puszta," characterized by saline soils and sand dunes. Regions like Hortobágy epitomized this transformation, transitioning from woodland to arid grassland.

## Climate

The climate is continental. Landscape is widely cultivated, the original Puszta landscape now being found only in a few places, for example in Hortobágy National Park.

## Agriculture

Most of Hungary's vegetable and grain crops are grown on the Great Plain. The region has a sandy soil and is sunny; the city of Szeged is often called City of Sunshine (Napfény városa). In addition to cattle, sheep, and pigs, the region also produces poultry and foie gras.

## Fauna

Three hundred species of birds are found here.$^{:1781}$