Today is Endangered Species Day.
On this occasion, we remind you of the Pančić spruce, an endemic type of tree that grows mostly in inaccessible areas along the central course of the Drina river in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia.
The Center for Environment is a partner in the project “Support for the restoration and conservation of the oldest European tree species – Pančić’s spruce” and we spent the endangered species day working in the field, collecting data important for monitoring the habitat conditions of this very specific and important species with an extremely small distribution area. The goal of these activities is to collect data, in order to gain new insights and knowledge that would help us in the long-term management and preservation of this valuable, and according to many, the most beautiful coniferous wood species.
The field visit was carried out by: Professor Milan Mataruga, expert on the project; Darko Jovanić, representative of the project leader – the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage and Aleksandra-Anja Dragomirović, representative of the Center for Environment.
Our hosts and support in field tours were our partners from the “Tara” National Park. The field visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina were additionally assisted by the partner in the project, Public forestry enterprise “Forests of the Republic of Srpska” (farms from Višegrad and Rogatica). The research that we carry out during the three years of the project is carried out in five locations, two in Serbia in Tara National Park (Studenac and Trenice) and three in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Gostilja, Tesla and Veliki Stolac). In some localities, saplings were also observed, the result of the natural regeneration of the spruce. We hope that this sensitive and endangered species will be able to recover naturally, and that negative impacts, especially those caused by human activities, will be absent.
Endangered species require special care and attention, as well as the actions of society, with the aim of saving them from disappearing and learning as much as possible about the sensitive systems that rule nature and how to preserve them!
