#173011 Evaluation of ecophysiological and genetic plant diversity in forest ecosystems

The Balkan Peninsula, where Serbia is situated, is a dendroflora diversity centre (IUCN), home to forests comprised of relict, endemic, economically important (or potentially important) and endangered forest species, unique in time and space. Serbia's gorges, canyon valleys and mountain massifs represent particularly rich reservoirs and treasure troves of the genofund. It is these refugia that have enabled the preservation and reproduction of the rich and varied flora, particularly tertiary relicts and endemorelicts, and represent veritable museums in vivo of special scientific importance. The diversity of small local populations is also of particular importance, as is the diversity of those on the edges of forest belts, the most sensitive parts of the ecosystem. The project presumes that the autochthonous forest flora and vegetation of our part of the Balkan Peninsula contain populations whose presence, specific genetic structure, chemical composition, morphophysiological and reproductive characteristics reveal the history of the vegetation and contribute to a better understanding of the plants' adaptive potential to survive in adverse environmental conditions.

The project aims to: (1) Discover the genetic structure, chemical composition, physiological characteristics and reproductive potential of forest flora representatives in the most protected parts of the system (refugia, gorges, canyon valleys and mountain massifs) and the most sensitive parts of the system (forests belt edges), (2) Better understand the adaptive potential of small local populations to survive in adverse environmental conditions and (3) Discover the course of migration in the distant past and predict it in the near future.

The results expected from the research of relict, endemic, endangered, economically important (or potentially important) forest species of our part of the Balkan Peninsula should provide a stable scientific basis for the conservation of biodiversity and directly support the implementation of international commitments on the protection of the biodiversity of forest ecosystems and endangered species. That would make them not only locally, but globally important as well.

Project team:

Dr. Srđan Bojović, project leader

Dr. Zorica Popović

Dr. Rada Matić

Dr. Vera Vidaković

Dr. Milena Stefanović

Miroslava Smiljanić

Address

Bulevar despota Stefana 142
11108 Belgrade
Serbia

Contact

Telefon: +381 11 20 78 300
Fax: +381 11 27 61 433
Email: ibiss@ibiss.bg.ac.rs

futer excellent