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There are two main branches of geography at the international level and in Hungary: human and physical geography, but the relationship between these two differs significantly in different regions. Physical geography tends to use the methods adopted and applied in the natural sciences, while human geography is increasingly connected to (other) social sciences. In this study, we examined the scientific publications of authors institutionally belonging to the two branches of geography in Hungary using quantitative methods. Physical geography publications can be characterized by more authors and higher international embeddedness than human geography publications, which only started to change in the last 3–4 years. Moreover, the latter were published in a large proportion in other domestic (social science) journals, which indicates a higher degree of connection with related social sciences.

Biological invasion is a worldwide phenomenon that can be considered a natural hazard. Protection against invasive plant species can only be successful if we know the anthropogenic factors that influence their occurrence, such as changes in land cover. In our study, we investigated the LUCAS based spatial distribution of five common invasive plant species (2015) and its connections with the recent (2012-2018) land CORINE based cover changes. The LUCAS points infected with this species are much closer to the CORINE land cover change polygons than the non-infected points. Our results suggest that the occurrence of Asclepias syriaca, Solidago spp, Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia is significantly dependent on whether land use has changed in the vicinity of LUCAS points infected with these species. Only the occurrence of Elaeagnus angustifolia does not show any correlation with changes in land cover.

Several environmental and economic consequences of drought and the accompanying water shortage were observed in the plain area of the Carpathian Basin in the last decades. This area is mostly used for agriculture, thus it is a key problem in the future to maintain food safety in the changing circumstances. Therefore, involvement and identification of areas affected by drought hazard and revealing steps of efficient adaptation are of high importance. In this study influence of drought severity on agricultural production is investigated in the Hungarian-Serbian cross-border area. The tendency in drought severity was analysed by PaDI and MAI drought indices. The effect of drought on agricultural production is evaluated on maize yield data as the most drought sensitive crop in the region. Increasing drought frequency and severity was indicated for the study area for the period of 1961-2012. The spatial assessment of annual PaDI maps revealed the higher exposure of the north and northeastern part of the study area to drought, where drought frequency was also experienced to be the highest. Increased sensitivity was detected based on maize yield loss after the early 1990s and annual yields were in strong connection with d rought severity. In spite of the technological development of agriculture, environmental factors still substantially affect crop yie lds. The observed unfavourable changes in the region mean that water management and spatial planning faces conceptual challenges to prevent and mitigate the damages of drought.

The relationship between man and nature, and its change, can be grasped by teaching about different landscapes in geography lessons, as the landscape itself is a dynamic system that varies according to a variety of environmental factors. In this process, the natural landscape turns into a cultural one, and changes further through human activity. Ultimately, the development can also counter-affect human activity in the landscape.It is not easy to teach this complicated and ever-changing system with all its intertwining relationships, so educational practice is constantly looking for ways to teach them more effectively. It is also the case in Hungary where, in addition, geography education still heavily builds upon traditional ways of information dissemination, especially teacher explanation, while it does not encourage students in individual knowledge acquisition and employing problem-solving attitude and methods.Our research team aims at developing teaching aids that help educators with a methodological renewal by employing problem-oriented educational methods and ICT, which also help students gain real-life knowledge and understand relationships with greater autonomy and experience.In our poster, we review the goals and development of our research, in particular, the examples of landscape change, the role of people in the landscape, and what common as well as different teaching methods can be applied when discussing various landscapes. The problem-oriented teaching approach of landscape change focuses on the major processes of different landscapes, and the tasks are embedded in local contexts which serve to help students build a closer attachment to the situation. In addition, students make use of a variety of data, text resources, maps, photos, and ICT tools for both independent and collaborative learning.The research was supported by the MTA-TKI Educational Research Programme (2016-2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]