{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T10:00:03Z","timestamp":1765533603904,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765497600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study provides the first detailed documentation of large-scale illegal bryophyte harvesting within a European nature conservation site. Forested areas of Northeast Hungary are recurrently affected by such activities, with several cases already resulting in official criminal proceedings. Although commercial bryophyte harvesting is not explicitly prohibited within the European Union, it is indirectly constrained by the conservation framework of the Habitats Directive. Our objective was to assess the conservation biological consequences of removing a substantial volume (296 kg air-dry weight; 8.7 m3) of bryophytes. Sixteen bryophyte species, including one liverwort and fifteen mosses, were identified in the confiscated material. Harvesters primarily target Hypnum cupressiforme, a moss species favored for decorative wreath production, with demand increasing prior to All Souls\u2019 Day in Hungary. Illegal collectors typically operate in small groups within forest stands proximal to settlements, concentrating their activity on the bark of Quercus trees and andesite rock surfaces. Terricolous bryophytes and associated soil substrates were entirely absent from the collected material. Comparative analysis revealed that the bryophyte flora of the affected forest stands is more diverse than that represented in the harvested samples. This indiscriminate illegal bryophyte harvest threatens protected forest habitats and necessitates improved monitoring and stricter enforcement.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14243785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T09:37:48Z","timestamp":1765532268000},"page":"3785","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Large-Scale Illegal Bryophyte Harvesting in Protected Areas of East-Central Europe, Hungary: Conservation Implications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"P\u00e9ter","family":"Sz\u0171cs","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Eszterh\u00e1zy K\u00e1roly Catholic University, Le\u00e1nyka \u00fat 12, 3300 Eger, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S\u00e1ndor","family":"R\u00f3zsa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aggtelek National Park Directorate, Tengerszem Oldal 1, 3759 Aggtelek, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-8060-9767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marianna","family":"Marschall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Eszterh\u00e1zy K\u00e1roly Catholic University, Le\u00e1nyka \u00fat 12, 3300 Eger, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"14","article-title":"Economic and ethnic uses of bryophytes","volume":"27","author":"Glime","year":"2007","journal-title":"Flor. 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Bryol."}],"container-title":["Plants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/14\/24\/3785\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T09:55:08Z","timestamp":1765533308000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/14\/24\/3785"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"references-count":18,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["plants14243785"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/plants14243785","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-7747"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-7747","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]}}}