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The paper presents the results of research on the influence of climatic factors on the occurrence of defoliation and decline of forests as a final outcome. The research was conducted in a mixed beech and fir forest, in the period from 2004 to 2019 at sample plot 415 - Maljen, as a representative example of forest decline, which is part of regular monitoring conducted on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Due to the fact that defoliation may be due to the influence of various factors, research, analysis and results are focused on long-term trends. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the degree of influence of climatic parameters on the occurrence of defoliation. Data on temperatures and precipitation in the period 2004-2019 were processed and analyzed on a monthly and annual basis, as well as in the vegetation period, for the main meteorological station Valjevo, which is closest to sample plot 415. Also, drought assessment was performed during this research period based on Lang's rain factor, de Martonne aridity index and climate diagram by Walter. In order to confirm these methods, the Standardized Precipitation Index was calculated as one of the method that has been mostly used in drought identification lately. It was stated that the defoliation of trees was initiated by extreme climatic events during three consecutive drought years (2011-2013), after which there was the largest decline of forests in the researched area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of protected species within protected areas (PA) is an important component of PA management. In addition to the framework that defines the basic preconditions for PA management and the financing mechanisms that ensure sustainable financing for PA, a structural component of PA management is monitoring of protected species and changes in PA over a long period of time. In Serbia, key monitoring is carried out by the Institute for Nature Conservation as well as by PA managers. This research aimed to identify the management practices utilized for monitoring PA by different groups of managers. To do so, the organization of monitoring of protected species was observed. The survey indicated that monitoring in most PA is conducted by a ranger service, and experts are only present when public enterprises manage national parks. A lack of databases was identified for most PA managers, except the public enterprise Vojvodinašume, and the problems related to reintroduction of species are mostly financial. Therefore, in the next period, it is necessary to improve this aspect of PA management by providing additional financial resources and better organizing the monitoring of protected species in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of three different fertilizers on concentration of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of one-year-old seedlings of walnut (Juglans regia L.) has been studied in the nursery conditions. Three types of pigments have been examined: chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids as well as the total concentration of chlorophyll a and b. The trial was set up in random block system with three types of fertilizers and a control in three replications in the nursery of Institute of forestry in Belgrade in 2013. The leaf sampling was carried out in the middle of the growing season. The highest concentration of photosynthetic pigments was found in the leaves of seedlings treated with the preparation Bactofil B 10 and the lowest in the seedlings treated with mineral fertilizer NPK 15:15:15. The highest mean value had chlorophyll b (0,486 mg/g) in treatment Bactofil B 10 and the lowest mean value had carotenoids (0,165 mg/g) in treatment NPK 15:15:15. Research showed that the concentration of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of walnut seedlings varied depending on the fertilizer that was applied. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the proper fertilizer can increase the concentration of photosynthetic pigments in leaves and therefore the intensity of photosynthesis which contributes to increasing the biomass production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]