Established by Decree of the Slovak Commission for the Environment No. 278/1990 Coll. of 25 June 1990, as amended by Act No. 287/1994 Coll. of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Amended by Decree of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic No. 122/2004 of 20 January 2004
Address:
Správa CHKO Latorica
(Administration of the Latorica PLA)
SNP 200/99
075 01 Trebišov
Web:
https://chkolatorica.sopsr.sk
Tel.:
056 668 30 00
Fax:
056 668 30 01
HOT LINE:
0903 298 247
Area of operation: the Protected Landscape Area, the districts of Michalovce and Trebišov
Following the Záhorie Protected Landscape Area, Latorica is the second large-scale protected area in Slovakia characteristic for its lowland-type landscape. The area is underlain predominantly by Quaternary sediments and features a characteristic fluvial and aeolian relief. It includes the main course of the Latorica River, as well as the lower reaches of the Laborec and Ondava rivers, together with a network of oxbow channels and adjacent riparian forests and alluvial meadows.
The most significant feature of the Latorica Protected Landscape Area is its aquatic and marsh biotic communities – which are already rare and exceptionally scarce – forming a complex that is unrivalled anywhere in the country.
The species composition of the plant communities is highly diverse. Rare aquatic species found here include the white water lily, yellow water-lily, water soldier, European water chestnut, and water-cress plantain, among many others.
Meadows that are regularly flooded and used as pasture are characterised by scattered groups of shrubs and shrub communities, as well as solitary trees, predominantly willows.
The location of the area along the migratory route of waterbirds means that a large number of animals from more distant geographical regions can be found here. Notable examples of the fauna found in the area include the steppe grasshopper, the green mantis, the European pond turtle, the purple heron, the little bittern, the great cormorant, the white-tailed eagle, the marsh harrier, the common bat and others.
Alluvial forests, aquatic and marsh communities, the Latorica floodplain with its network of branches, and sand dunes – all these features give this part of the Latorická rovina plain its distinctive and unique character.