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Distribution, Diversity and Conservation of Boreo-Montane Plant Species in the Central Part of the Balkan Peninsula and the Southern Part of the Pannonian Plain

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Abstract

Boreo-montane species have been neglected for a long time by south European botanists. However, the interest in this group is re-emerging, especially as regards relic species, refugia and southern distribution limits. This paper reviews the distribution and diversity centres of 63 boreo-montane species in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula and the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. An ordination analysis was used to differentiate geographic regions according to their floristic similarities with respect to the target species group. A comparison of floristic richness and distribution of the boreo-montane flora in relation to the geographic position, altitude and geological substrate was made. The alpine-high-nordic mountain groups of the Dinaric Alps (Durmitor and Prokletije) stand out as centres of diversity of this flora in the study area, which indicates that mountain groups with a relatively high mean annual precipitation sum and without summer droughts provide optimal conditions for survival of boreo-montane species in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. Most boreo-montane species were recorded on limestone and silicate in the altitudinal range of 1,250–1,500 m. The results of our vegetational analysis show that the vegetation classes Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae, Querco-Fagetea and Vaccinio-Piceetea are the richest in boreo-montane species. Given the fact that the habitats of boreo-montane species are recognized as very endangered, an overview of the status of the species’ rarity, vulnerability, and protection in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula and the southern part of the Pannonian Plain is also presented.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr Vladimir Stevanović (University of Belgrade) who initiated our investigation of boreo-montane species in the Balkan Peninsula, pointing out that knowledge of the distribution, ecology and diversity of the mountain flora in the Balkans is crucially important for understanding the history of plant life in the southeastern part of Europe during the Ice Age. We also thank Dr Jasmina Krpo-Ćetković for linguistic editing. The authors are very grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their assistance and valuable suggestions, which were helpful in improving the quality of this paper. The research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Project 173030 Biodiversity of the plant life of Serbia and the Balkan Peninsula – Assessment, sustainable use and conservation (2011–2014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden “Jevremovac”, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Snežana Vukojičić, Ksenija Jakovljević & Dmitar Lakušić

  2. Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University “Ćirilo and Metodije”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

    Vlado Matevski

  3. Department for Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia

    Vladimir Randjelović

  4. Natural History Museum, Belgrade, Serbia

    Marjan Niketić

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  1. Snežana Vukojičić
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Correspondence to Snežana Vukojičić.

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Vukojičić, S., Jakovljević, K., Matevski, V. et al. Distribution, Diversity and Conservation of Boreo-Montane Plant Species in the Central Part of the Balkan Peninsula and the Southern Part of the Pannonian Plain. Folia Geobot 49, 487–505 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-014-9192-6

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