{"id":5107,"date":"2020-06-24T15:08:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T13:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npkopaonik.rs\/flora\/"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:43:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T10:43:08","slug":"flora","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/npkopaonik.rs\/en\/flora\/","title":{"rendered":"Flora"},"content":{"rendered":"

Favorable natural conditions of this mountain massif have facilitated the development of a rich and diverse plant world, which has been studied by numerous researchers from around the globe, from various perspectives. The plant life includes a wide range of species, such as trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, flowering plants, ferns, and mosses, many of which have medicinal properties. The high-mountain flora of Kopaonik comprises 825 plant species and subspecies, classified into 292 genera and 80 families, representing one-fifth of Serbia\u2019s total flora. The highest forest belt, above 1500 meters above sea level, is dominated by dense spruce forests, while at higher altitudes (1750-1900 meters), the spruce forests thin out, transitioning into communities of low-growing shrubs, where mountain juniper and bilberry predominate.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Compared to other parts of Europe, the Ice Age had a minimal impact on the flora of our mountains, as evidenced by the presence of numerous relict species\u2014plants that are remnants of ancient flora. These relict species indicate the autochthony of the flora and vegetation of Kopaonik. The relict plants of Kopaonik include: Leontopodium alpinum, Vaccinium uliginosum, Eriophorum latifolium, Taxus bacata, Acer heldreichii, Ostrya carpinifolia, Trolius europaeus, and others.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Vegetation<\/h2><\/div>
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Kopaonik features a remarkably well-structured vertical succession of vegetation, starting with willow, poplar, and alder forests in river valleys, followed by thermophilic black pine forests, communities of Turkey oak and Hungarian oak, sessile oak and hornbeam forests, downy oak and manna ash forests, and then hill beech forests and sessile oak forests (up to 1100 meters above sea level). Beech and fir forests (up to 1600 meters) are interspersed with spruce, which dominates forests between 1550 and 1750 meters. Above 1750 meters, the zone of dwarf mountain pine and bilberry begins, accompanied by a low subalpine form of spruce, extending up to the alpine meadows found above 1950 meters.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Local Endemics<\/h2><\/div>

Three stenoendemic plant species inhabit the territory of the Kopaonik National Park. The defining characteristic of stenoendemic species is their extremely limited distribution, often confined to just a few hectares or even a few ares. In Kopaonik, these species include: <\/p>\n<\/div>

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