Composing a vegetation-stand map for the protected area of 'Radan' Nature Park

Protected areas are one of the priorities for mapping habitats, especially forest habitats, which are dominant in most protected areas of central Serbia, such as "Radan" Nature Park. This paper presents the forest habitat mapping in the protected area of "Radan" NP and the development of vegetation-stand map of the protected area in an effort to examine the methodology of forest habitats mapping in Serbia, which presumes a long term systematic data collection. Although much has been done on the classification of habitats in Serbia, considering both botanical and the forestry approach, the practical application of this knowledge in habitat mapping is still in its infancy, with the exception of longstanding practical work on data collection for Forest Management Plans for the state-owned forests. Data on forest stands in Nature Park "Radan" collected in this manner were essential to developing the vegetation-stand map of "Radan" NP. The results of data processing and harmonization of typology and classification of state-owned forests have been presented in this paper, as well as the analysis of forest habitat types in this protected area. The paper presents the vegetation-stand maps of the state-owned forests in the protected area and of the pilot area of privately owned forests, for which detailed field data collection was necessary. These maps are intended for the management of protected areas and systematic and efficient implementation of protection measures and activities. Habitat mapping in protected areas is a prerequisite for an adequate biodiversity monitoring, as well as for management and sustainable use of natural resources of the protected area.

The nesting of Eurasian stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) on the site 'Jaroš' in SNR 'Pašnjaci velike droplje' (Great Bustard Pastures)

In the reproductive season of 2018 a successful breeding of Stone curlew was recorded in the Special Nature Reserve "Pastures of Great Bustard" (Northern Serbia). Two breeding pairs with four chicks were monitored on the daily basis from April to late August 2018. Reproductive activities regarding nest site occupancy, egg laying, incubation, hatching, chick rearing as well as predator defensive behaviour was documented.

The restoration of forest ecosystems in the NP 'Fruška Gora' 20 years after the bombing

This paper presents the restoration of forest ecosystems in the NP "Fruška gora" 20 years after the bombing, which lasted from April 4 to June 8, 1999. The most frequently bombed sites were: Elektrovojvodina (Iriški venac), Kraljeve stolice, Paragovo, Crveni čot and Dubočaš. The most affected were sessile oak, sessile-hornbeam and beech forests with linden. At the sites Elektrovojvodina, Paragovo and Crveni čot, young oak forests 15-20 years of age have been restored by planting sessile oak and sowing acorns. Beech-linden forests will spontaneously restore, which is indicated by the appearance of young beech seedlings. At the Dubočaš site, in a destroyed forest dug by craters, dense acacia shrubs have been formed. In the sessile forest on the Kraljeve stolice site, the pioneer species Salix caprea and Populus tremula, 15-20 years of age, are in the proces of spontaneous restoration. However, this forest cannot be restored without human intervention.

Contribution to the knowledge of diet of the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus, L. 1758) during nonbreeding period in the area of Kikinda town

The paper presents an analysis of the diet of Long-eared Owl at the winter roosting place in Kikinda town during the autumn and winter months of 2014/2015. The osteological and odontological parts of prey items extracted from the pellets were used to investigate the diet composition of Long-eared Owl. In the result section, the composition of prey, dietary preferences, the width of the trophic niche and diet diversity were described and analyzed. Besides, a brief biogeographic overview of the small mammals' composition is given for the northern Banat district (Vojvodina Province, northern Serbia). The obtained results were compared with other similar studies from northern Serbia and the rest of the Pannonian Basin.