The Site is formed of four separate areas composed of artificial fishponds, permanently flooded marshlands, a seasonally flooded sodic-alkaline pan, flooded woodland, and oxbow lakes lined with gallery forests. The sodic-alkaline pan is a type of continental saltwater body which is a typical wetland type in Hungary and characteristic of the Pannonic biogeographic region. The area is an important staging ground for waterbirds during the breeding and migration seasons, regularly supporting over 20,000 individuals. It hosts several noteworthy plant species and communities, including several endemic species. The Site has an important role in the retention and storage of inland water and regulation of the groundwater levels of the surrounding area. Land use is dedicated to extensive agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, as well as a research station, information centre and several observation hides. The main threats to the ecological character of the Site include decreasing groundwater levels and extensive agricultural pollution. In 2000, a cyanide spill caused by a gold mining company near Baia Mare in Romania leaked into the River Someş. The polluted waters eventually reached the Tisza and then the Danube, causing severe water pollution and killing large numbers of fish in Hungary and Serbia. A few small-scale habitat restoration programmes have been carried out on the Site and further restoration measures are planned.