Table 1 Summary of picture descriptions of herders during picture sort exercises

telek1

rich, fertilized soil (manured by resting animals), fat and black earth with Hordeum hystrix (telek – rich area around farmstead, tanyakörnyék – area around the shed/farmstead, telekszél – edge of telek, állás – resting place for the animals, tanyaudvar, tanyapallag – ground around the farmstead, dudvás rész – manured place, cigánybúzás rész – area with Hordeum)

telek2

good rich soil, strong earth with mixed grass, the most partos (lit. on the shore), all animals stop here for grazing, but fescue dies out, after driving out in spring, first we grazed the litter, than some places were left for mowing, it has a good mixed hay, in summer this area is hot, grass burns, thorny plants abound, e.g. Xanthium spinosum (telek, állás környéke - around the állás, tanyapallag, tanyakert környéke, partos hely – partos place, telekszéle)

nightpl

good quality earth, like on the telek (állás, gulyaállás – resting place for cattle, telkes főd – with earth like on the telek)

loess1

richer black earth, partos-like, pasture is better in patches, soil keeps water longer, grass is mixed, weedy, ancient pasture, not saline, Urtica, Elymus, bushes and mushrooms, this area got manure or it is an abandoned állás or was ploughed in the past, others: it is natural, not made by mans hand (fekete porong – black elevated area, partos, telkesebb rész, legelő - pasture, ligetes terület – patchy area, often no habitat name was mentioned)

loess2

better, richer earth, plants want to live longer, the ’lifting power’ of the soil is stronger, grass is more mixed, partos, like telek, there is no salt, Carduus, Cardaria, Euphorbia, Urtica, Trifolium, Eryngium, and mushrooms, a farm or well was here, or manure was deposited, or it was disturbed, others: Nature created it (fekete porong, hátas főd – earth like a back, nagyon kicsi telek – very small telek, ligetes fót – patchy, legelő)

fescue1

this is all fescue, ancient saline pasture, but with a bit telek-like soil, a bit partos, the strongest, most useful grass, tiny hay (means: very good, not like the long Alopecurus), cattle is best if eating this, here on the picture sun burnt it (tippan - fescue, tippanos – area with fescue, rendes legelő – good pasture, szík - salt)

fescue2

better, a bit telek-like earth (better than the one with Artemisia), not as saline, on the back, partos, mixed, denser, sometimes mown, valuable grass mixed with less valuable, fescue, Podospermum, Trifolium (usually no names, fekete porong, legelő)

clover

richer, good pasture on partos place or at the edge of a marsh, but not in each year, somewhat better saline soil (not white), mixed valuable grass, but dangerous (bloats up and kills the sheep) (bodorkás rész – area with Trifolium, hátas rész, laposszél – edge of the lapos, legelő, kaszáló – area for hay)

wormwood

this is the typical fescue pasture of the Hortobágy, salty, but a bit partos, not the true szík, not blind szík, but not really on the black earth, gray earth, a bit wet, not very valuable, soil structure is not as good, semi-grassy salty place, fescue grows in tussocks (often does not get a name, bárányürmös, ürmös rész – with Artemisia, tippanos)

palmmade

very saline earth, can not produce more, lapwings like it, and also skylarks, fescue grows in small tussocks, only fescue, nothing grows with it, wetter and better in spring, but does not last long, in drought it is barren, we do not like it (marikkal rakott főd – ‘palm-made’ earth, bíbicbaszta főd – earth f…cked by the lapwing, bíbickocogtató – lapwing run, hancsik/zsombikos - tussocky)

blind1

typical saline pasture, but only half pasture (you can only graze half of the area), good for nothing earth, no calory, water-logged, salt depletes it, mud stucks between the nails of sheep, wind blows the white dust, animals lick the salt, sheep does not like to graze here, only the strong fescue grasses on the partos place (names of the whole mosaic: szík – salt (salty place), szíkfoltos, szíkfokos terület – area with salty patches, tarka főd – patterned earth, szíkpatkás legelő – pasture with patka; habitats in the depressions: szík, szíkfót – szík patch, szíkes főd – salty earth, szíksó - salt, fehér szík – white szík, szíksavas főd – earth with salt, szíkfok, szíkkotymány – szík brew; partos habitats: füves - grassy , tippanos, szíkporong – elevated szík, szíkközi főd – earth between szík, szíkpadka – (the special geomorphological feature), szíkhát – szík back, legelő, termőfőd – earth that bears, partos, szíkpart, gyep - grassland)

blind2

earth with a bad structure, highly salty, bad even after the withdrawal of water, not good as a pasture, disgraceful, if wet, in depressions: small grasses grow, salt depletes, barren, water-logged, on partos: these are grasslands with fescue and Artemisia, green pasture that is eroded (the mosaic: szíkes - salty, szíkpadkás rész, szíkfokos; depressions: vakszík, vadszík – wild szík, szík, szíkfót, szíkporong –salty depression; on partos: tippanos rész, porong, gyep, partos)

chamom

true salty area with chamomile, and with this tiny red creeping plant (Camphorosma), not blind szík, a bit wetter szík, as a pasture nothing!, unimprovable, strong soil, poor earth without neat grass (kamilla - chamomile, kamillás/szíkfűves – with chamomile, szíkfót, szíkes rész, szíkfok, szíkes talaj- salty soil)

stream

water-worn, eroded, water is coming (fleeing!) from the partos for centuries, after snow melting and rain water stays, but in summer after two days tiny green grass grows, animals like it, otherwise a bad pasture, salty, sinking (szík, ér – stream, kis erecskék – tiny streams, szíkes erek – salty streams, vízér – water stream, szíkfok, szíkpatkák)

foxtail

true wet grass, good pasture, others say: bad pasture, worth nothing, grass withers quickly, wet area, not partos, after rains it is water-logged, but later dries out (perje - Alopecurus, perjés/pipaszúrkálós - with Alopecurus, lapossas rész – a bit like lapos, aljas rész – depressed place, laposszél – edge of lapos, kaszáló – area for hay)

marshedge1

water starts here, water runs here, shallow water, with Alopecurus, you can make hay, if not grazed, quickly warms up, horses like it, they hide here from horseflies, it can turn wild if not grazed (laposszél, mocsaras rész – marshy area, vízállás, tocsogós – (with shallow water), mocsár - marsh, kotyványos rész – mud brew, lapos, ér)

marshedge2

water-logged for long, in warm water grass rots, and it has a bad taste, worthless, smelly, with algae and Lemna (lapos, fenék - bottom, vizes rész –place with water, pocsmány (see kotyvány), locsogó – (with shallow water), laposszél)

tuss1

area at the edge of lapos, poor hay, with Alopecurus, water-logged for longer, but dries out in summer, not very salty, but not rich, either, tussocky, an earthworm creates it, animals trample, horses like to graze here, but sheep do not like (zsombikos lapos – lapos with tussocks, laposszél, pipaszúrkálós, vízállás –water stands)

tuss2

tussocky, the earthworm builds it, useless pasture, worth nothing, water-logged pasture, ducks hide, lapwings breed on the tussocks, in poor dry summer animals like to graze here, if there is nothing on the partos (zsombikos, zsombikos lapos, lapos)

reed

wet, muddy, dense area with reed, poor pasture, cattle eat some of it, they hide here from horsefly (nádas – with reed, lapos)

sedge1

wet, marshy area, worthless as a pasture, Typha, Bolboschoenus, Schoenoplectus, Butomus, Iris (lapos, laposszél, kákás – with Schoenoplectus, lapossas rész, vizenyős hely – place with water, mocsaras rész)

sedge2

very lapos, wet area, water-logged throughout the year, worthless, good for nothing, useless plants, only to fill the belly, if nothing is left on the steppe, animals ate it, we stood in front of them, they ate up everything, Carex, Bolboschoenus, Typha, Schoenoplectus, Rumex (sásos – with Carex, lapos, vizes terület, gyíkínyes – with Typha, laposszél, csetkákás – with Schoenoplectus)

wlily

deeper water but flows, marshy, does not dry out, it is not a pasture, animals do not come here, Nymphaea, Nuphar, Lemna, Ceratophyllum-like plants float on the water, dangerous (víz - water, nyílt víz – open water, mocsaras rész, vízi növényzet – water plants, nagy lapos – big lapos)