Western Bosnia Research Articles

Antimicrobial effectiveness of chestnut honey, pollen and propolis individually and in combination

The emergence of bacteria with antibiotic resistance and multiple resistance is characteristic of animal and human pathogens. It is wide known that bee products, which have been used in alternative medicine since ancient times, have antimicrobial potential. Application of bee products for therapeutic purposes is defined as apitherapy. The study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of commercial chestnut honey, pollen and propolis produced in western Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sanski Most) individually and in five combinations (apimixtures). The antimicrobial properties of samples were investigated using the agar well diffusion method against three Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii ATCC 6633, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 33591, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212); three Gram-negative bacteria (ESBL producing Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis ATCC 13076, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027) and one fungal species (Candida albicans ATCC 10231). Pure bee pollen inhibited the growth of only Gram-negative bacteria, concentrated chestnut honey was active against all Gram-negative and Gram-positivebacteria, while 20% propolis extract and apimixtures A2 (80% honey and 20% propolis) and A3 (60% honey, 20% pollen and 20% propolis extract) inhibited the growth of all tested microorganisms. Chestnut honey andthree apimixtures (A1, A2 and A3) showed the highest antibacterial action against all tested Gram-negative bacteria and MRSA compared to other investigated samples. In this study, examined honeybee products from Bosnia and Herzegovina and their mixtures had significant activity against tested bacteria, including strains with proven resistance to conventional antibiotics, MRSA and ESBL producing E. coli.

ZEMLJOTRES U BANJALUCI I BOSANSKOJ KRAJINI 1969. GODINE

Banja Luka and 14 other municipalities of ​​Bosnian Krajina (western Bosnia and Herzegovina) were hit by a series of strong earthquakes on October 26 and 27, 1969. The quake area had a population of over 750,000 in 803 settlements. The total estimated damage in the entire area affected by the earthquake amounted to 7,150 million dinars and there were also human losses. Assistance to the affected area came from all over the country and from abroad. Western countries (mostly the USA, Switzerland, Italy and FR Germany) sent money and goods of five times higher value than the socialist countries. The structure of international aid shows that it was almost exclusively conditioned by the prevailing political relations. Until 1974, the question of the amount of financial resources needed for reconstruction caused a political crisis in the relations between the Prime Minister Mitja Ribičič and the leadership of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also within the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where important personnel changes took place. Under pressure from the Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s leadership has agreed to reduce the funds originally earmarked for reconstruction by one-third. This was opposed by old wartime communist cadre. This served the new, young leadership to remove Osman Karabegović, Avdo Humo, Hajro Kapetanović and Čedo Kapor from the political life. These officials opposed the confederalization of Yugoslavia and the strengthening of the statehood of the republics, which was insisted on by the new leadership, led by Branko Mikulić. The greatest intensity of reconstruction was immediately after the earthquake. At the beginning of 1976, the state settled its obligations to Bosnian Krajina.

The emigration of peoples from the area of Western Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Balkans civil conflict and implications for the Avifauna (Case study Pašića polje at Bosansko Grahovo)

We compare the avifauna between two peeriods, before and after Balkans civil conflict in a region of Western Bosnia, the municipality of Bosansko Grahovo. The present study investigated bird-abundance in 3 habitats (lokalites) of the area Pašića polje: 1) Settlements/village Luka, 2) Pastures, 3) Meadow and Agricultural land. Thirty years of data on bird numbers in breading season (from 20th May until end of June) were analysed. By doing this we were able to capture the overall changes that happened at the landscape level and understand them in terms of ecological processes taking place at the habitat scale. Forty-six bird species were observed. We detected more species and more individuals in the period between 2004 and 2018. Our study demonstrated that abundance of the bird sgnificantly different before and after the Balkans civil conflict. Abundance of 35 species was different in the two study periods and during the first period the mean abundance was mostly lower than in the second one. Two species disappeared from the investigated localities, E. citrinella and A. campestris, while several species expanded their range or nesting site. The big decline in the Pašića polje region of some species such as the O. oenanthe, the M. alba, on the pastures, and the P. domesticus and P. pica in the settlements, can be explained by outmigration and changes in land use patterns, or non-use. Rural emigration has been complete (all population) during Balkans civil conflict and a smaller part of the population returned only after 3-5 years. Most of the changes observed support the hypothesis that the differences observed in the bird community are caused by the changes that occurred in the vegetation as a result of agricultural and grazing abandonment.

Pain by Miroslav Maksimović

Reviewed by: Pain by Miroslav Maksimović Biljana D. Obradović Miroslav Maksimović Pain Bloomington, IN, USA: Three String Books, 2021. Translated from Serbian by John Jeffries and Bogdan Rakić. Illustrations by Svetlana Rakić. 104 Pp. Introduction, Appendix. ISBN 978-0893575083 Miroslav Maksimović's, Pain, was translated from Serbian by John Jeffries and Bogdan Rakić and illustrated by Svetlana Rakić. This facing page translation of sonnets (Serbian original on the left and English on the right) has a forward by Bogdan Rakić, and an appendix, "Sweet Fear: Down the Ancestors' Path," presumably by the author, Maksimović. although this is not clearly stated. The appendix is both in English and Serbian, not facing page; it should have been reversed, with the original language first and the target second or just made facing page as the rest of the book. Interspersed throughout the book, are twelve moving response drawings to the sonnets by Svetlana Rakić. There are no biographical notes of the author (although B. Rakić gives us information on him in his introduction), translators nor the artist. The sonnets are divided into three parts: part one containing only one, part two twelve, and part three also one, so altogether fourteen sonnets. The sonnets have a rhyme scheme, in Serbian and in English divided into four stanzas: two quatrains and two tercets. Translating rhyme is not easy at all, so kudos go to the great translators' efforts. Miroslav Maksimović (b. 1946) is the author of fourteen collections of poetry, four collections of essays, a volume of polemics, according to B. Rakić in his introduction who says that Maksimović wrote, "about seemingly trivial details of everyday life" (p. 1), in his pre-nineties books. Then "prompted by the Yugoslav[ian] wars and their devastating consequences—[he] turn[ed] to … much larger issues: the never-ending cycle of violence in the Balkans" (p. 1). [End Page 184] It's unfortunate that he turned to the past, if I may add, instead of looking at the future. Those seemingly trivial issues he wrote about before are what writers strive to look out for and what makes great poetry. Instead, and for an important reason, his most recent book, Pain, is "a perfect example of his change in focus" (1), about "real events that took place in August 1941, when the entire population of the ethnically mixed village of Miostrah near Cazin in Western Bosnia were massacred by their Muslim neighbors, the supporters of the Croatian Ustashe" (p. 1), which was part of a "genocidal campaign and the complete extermination of the Serbs from the so-called Independent State of Croatia" (p. 1). One hundred-eighty women and children and all the remaining members of Maksimović's family: his mother Stoja Uzelac, her mother and six siblings (which included a two-year-old brother). She was wounded, mistaken for dead, yet she survived by crawling out of the pit she was thrown in. She then joined the partisan forces fighting fascism and that's how she met Maksimović's father. Her own father had been killed before the rest of teh fmaily members. Maksimović was only vaguely aware of his mother's tragedy, but once his mother died in 2017, he finally pieced the story of his mother's trauma together and it became his own. The introductory sonnet, "I Remember This," was written thirty years before the middle, second part, while the final sonnet predates them by ten years. He wrote the middle, cathartic outburst in twelve days, one a day. All fourteen sonnets (like the fourteen lines of each sonnet) are thematically connected, but the last line of each sonnet is not the beginning line of the next, and there is no master sonnet containing all first lines, as is the case in sonnet wreaths. He has created his own hybrid genre here, as Bogdan Rakić says, which still does adhere to some of the strict formal requirements. So these twelve sonnets were written in February 2016. They deal with the story of Stoja Uzelac's first life. The second sonnet discusses the deadly weapons used in the massacre (axes and knives), the third describes the parts of mutilated human bodies, the fourth introduces the victims...

Jugoslovenska vojska u Aprilskom ratu 1941. godine

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia found itself in a difficult position at the beginning of World War II. The internal antinomies caused by unresolved national and political issues reflected badly on the state of the military. The Yugoslav Army was unprepared for a modern war. The military factories in Yugoslavia only produced a segment of light weapons and ammunition, bombs and basic equipment. The active officer staff was few in numbers, which hindered the transition of the peacetime armed forces into the state of war. The military measures that were undertaken were inadequate, inefficient and implemented without a clear plan. The Yugoslav Army's war plan, called R-41, was ill-suited for the situation. It became obvious that three thousand kilometers of state borders were undefendable against a far superior enemy. On April 6th, 1941 Germans launched an attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The outcome of the war and the faith of the Yugoslav Army were decided by three German attacks, performed from a circular base: in Macedonia on April 6th, in Serbia on April 8th, and in Croatia on April 10th. German and Italian troops advanced rapidly, and by April 13th they took Vojvodina, Slovenia, Croatia and Western Bosnia. German troops entered deserted Belgrade on the eve of April 12th. The unconditional capitulation was signed on April 17th, and the entire fighting ceased on April 18th, at 12 PM. The majority of the Yugoslav Army was taken into captivity.

BAPTRIA TIBIALE (ESPER, 1804) (LEPIDOPTERA: GEOMETRIDAE), A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES FOR THE FAUNA OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

This paper presents the first finds of a rare moth, Baptria tibiale (Esper, 1791), for the fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The species was recorded on Kukavica Lake in western Bosnia on July 2, 2021. This is a boreo-montane species with a Palearctic distribution that is rare and very local in Southeast Europe.

Političke i vojne prilike u Tuzlansko-podrinjskom kantonu u godini Deytonskog mira

At the beginning of the paper we explain the territorial differences between the Washington and Dayton Peace Solutions, which especially refers to the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton and focuses only on the Tuzla region and its specifics in relation to other regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We then present the basic elements of the Washington Agreement, the meetings that preceded it, the content of the agreement, the principles of the Vienna Agreement important for the organization of the canton, as well as active monitoring and consideration of the agreement by the Tuzla District Assembly and its views on international community plans. We also monitor the implementation and importance of the implementation of the Washington Agreement in the Tuzla region and the creation of the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton, explain the name of the canton and use demographic data based on the 1991 census to indicate that Podrinje is a Bosniak-majority region. Then we give an overview of how the implementation of the Washington Agreement reflected on the normalization of food prices, the situation in the canton and the strengthening of the combat power of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ie the II Corps of the Army of B&H. The paper describes the jurisdiction of the President of the Canton, the Government of the Canton, national representation by agreement of SDA and HDZ, the composition of the government, the reasons for non-participation of Serbs in implementation and talks with the Serb Civic Council to participate in organizing ministries. We especially present the activities of the President and the Government of the Canton on supporting the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, II Corps and strengthening defense, budget funds for these purposes: action: „We are all B&H Army“, support for displaced persons and improving living conditions in protected areas of Srebrenica and Žepa We also describe the activities of the authorities during the fall of the protected zones of Srebrenica and Žepa, for the care of the displaced population, as well as the requests to the institutions of the international community to stop and prevent genocide against the Bosniaks of Srebrenica. We especially emphasize the activity of the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton Ministry of the Interior in preserving public order and peace. We are especially dealing with the military situation in the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton, presenting significant military successes through the liberation of Lisača on the Kalesija front, Vis near Gračanica, Vijenac near Lukavac, Greda on Majevica, as well as the crushing of enemy offensives „Spreča-95“ and others. In this paper, we argue the support of Russian diplomacy to the aggressor and link Russia's diplomatic activities through the contact group and other accomplices of the conspiracy group towards the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a complex situation such as that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, when a Serbian aggressor with the support of insurgent Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina commits genocide, a joint criminal enterprise with the support of the Croatian state led by Tuđman and Croats mainly from Herzegovina win over Fikret Abdić to organize a quisling creation „autonomous region of Western Bosnia“ and opening a conflict with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The support of the Tuzla District Assembly to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their efforts to stop the war and find a peaceful solution was significant. Also, the authorities of the District of Tuzla vigorously condemned the divisions on the national principle as well as the division of the territory of the District of Tuzla. In this paper, we have processed the proposals of the Assembly of the District of Tuzla to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to individual peace solutions. The inadmissibility of the Dayton Peace Solution for the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton authorities and the SDA Cantonal Committee was specifically addressed as well as the reasons and request to President Alija Izetbegović and the negotiating team of Bosnia and Herzegovina to leave the Dayton negotiations, and then the request to Izetbegović to clarify the reasons for accepting such an unjust peace agreement.

Duvalius (Neoduvalius) lohaji n. sp., a new remarkable subterranean taxon of the isotopic Trechini lineage from Dinaric karst, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae).

A morphologically distinguished and isolated cavernicolous trechine beetle belonging to the isotopic Duvalius lineage was discovered in Dinarids, Western Bosnia, in hypogean environment, in the cave Mračna Pećina. Duvalius (Neoduvalius) lohaji n. sp., is described, illustrated and compared with the other Duvalius species of the Dinaric range, especially with Neoduvalius taxa. In addition, taxonomical considerations about Duvalius-related genera that exhibit aphaenopsian morphology are given.

Violence and torture against migrants and refugees attempting to reach the European Union through Western Balkans

Introduction: This paper presents a study of traumatic experiences, including torture, among refugees and migrants at the border between Croatia and Bosnia. The number of people being forcefully displaced is increasing and militarized border enforcement efforts have made migration a dangerous endeavour. The European Union is externalizing its borders, but migrants and refugees have not ceased arriving in Western societies despite facing violence and torture both throughout their journey, and at the gates of Europe. Method: 54 participants were assessed, 51 males and 3 females, 26 were self-declared economic migrants and 28 stated that they fled due to political or religious persecution. The Iraqi version of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was adapted to collect traumatic and torture stressors experienced by the migrants/refugees during their stay in Western Bosnia, and more specifically during their detention and refoulement (push-backs) when attempting to cross the border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Results: 98.14% reported experiencing multiple forms of torture, 81.5% reported having their property looted, and 70.4% stated that they had been physically harmed on the mentioned border during migratory transit. Torture experiences were associated with the migratory and confinement phases such as exposure to the rain and cold (92.6%) or lack of food, water and medical care (66.7%). Finally, 50% of participants fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the cumulative effect of traumatic experiences. Differences were found only in the amount of traumatic experiences between economic migrants and refugees who fled for political or religious reasons. No differences were found in torture experiences and PTSD diagnosis. Conclusions: Violence perpetrated by security forces against migrants is crystallized at the border-zones. Migrants are held in conditions that would amount by themselves to torture. Traumatic experiences have an effect on migrants/refugees’ mental health and can trigger the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Guaranteeing human rights for migrants/refugees throughout their journey is needed.

Long-term fire effects on vegetation and topsoil properties in beech forests of Manjaca Mountain (western Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Wildfires are an important driver of land degradation, with detrimental impacts on soil properties, usually leading to decreasing soil fertility and erosion, which affect vegetation recovery. This study investigates the long-term impact of wildfires on topsoil horizons and vegetation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where land degradation is causing significant economic and ecological losses. Ten years after a wildfire, 12 plots were installed in areas affected by low- and medium-severity fire, and in unburned areas. Morphological, physical and chemical soil properties were explored on each plot, together with vegetation cover (number and cover of species). Soil organic matter, carbon, nitrogen and available phosphorus contents in medium- and low-severity fire affected plots are approximately half of those recorded in unburned plots, showing detrimental long-term impacts on soil fertility. Soil cation exchange capacity, pH and available potassium did not show significant differences between fire- and non-fire-affected plots. The number of plant species in medium-severity fire-affected plots is significantly lower than in low-severity and unburned plots. Differentiated plant groups are led by herbaceous (ground-breaking and weed) species. This study shows that wildfires can have long-term impacts on topsoil horizons and vegetation in limestone areas, threatening the sustainability of forest ecosystems.

The vocabulary of the Eastern Hercegovina and Shumadia-Voyvodina dialects of the Serbian language in a comparative aspect

The paper deals with the results of a survey of speakers of Eastern Her-cegovian (Western Bosnian, Manjača and Livanjsko Polje districts) and Shumadia-Voyvodina dialects (Rađevina and Podgorina districts) on the base of 370 questions covering the main thematic groups of vocabulary. In comparison with Rađevina, the answers of informants from Western Bosnia contain more words diff erent from the literary language. But most of Bosnian dialect words coexist in with words that are identical to the literary language. The range of lexical diff erences between the Western Bosnian dialect and the Western Serbian dialect is 27%, but half of this number also falls on doublet pairs. A series of diff erential lex-emes demonstrates a clear areal dichotomy between dialects of Western Bosnia and Western Serbia (dimljak — odžak, guliti — ljuštiti, uvor — kresta, gra — pasulj, mrkva — šangarepa, cesta — put, tara — razboj,kruv — hleb). The Western Bosnian corpus is heterogeneous, and the southern dialects, which tend to the Adriatic area, contain more archa-isms and vocabulary characteristic for the Western part of the Serbo-Croatian area.

Dialect Materials from Western Bosnia

Dialect Materials from Western Bosnia

Administrativne jedinice nepoznatog imena iz istočne Bosne i Podrinja / Administrative Units of Unknown Name from Eastern Bosnia and Podrinje

We witness the continual habituation of the Romanija-Rogatica region in the period of early Roman Empire primarily as the result of archaeological findings. A Roman settlement was located in the center of the present-day town of Rogatica (south-eastern Bosnia). Based on the analysis involving Tabula Peutingeriana, milestones and archaeological findings, we can conclude that the route Salona – Argentaria (Tab. Peut. 5, 3 - 6, 2) passed near this town. This territory once was also the headquarters of a Roman colony of unknown name. The paper presents different views regarding the name of this administrative units. The analysis of Latin inscriptions on epigraphic monuments made an attempt at answering this question. A particularly important monument for the study of the Roman colony in Rogatica is tombstone dedicated to Titus Claudius Maximus. According to this monument, the said person was a decurion of the colony Ris(…?). Inscriptions dedicated to decurions, duumviri and military veterans corroborate the existence of the colony in Rogatica. Prosopography also shows the relationship between the colony Ris(…?) and the settlement of military veterans, as they appear as city servants in this town. The second part of the paper focuses on the territory of the upper course of the Drina river that belonged to the municipal unit whose center was in the village of Komini near Pljevlja (Montenegro). This territory is located between the mountains Pivska, Ljubiša, Kovač, Jahorina, Treskavica, Lelija, Zelengora and Maglić. Although Komini hold a relatively small number of inscriptions that mention local officials from the municipium, not a single monument has preserved the full name of this administrative unit. They most commonly mention only the function of a particular person. The only inscription that shares more information is the honorary inscription dedicated in accordance with the decision of the council of decurions for the Roman knight and decurion Titus Aurelius Sextianus. This inscription states that this person was a decurion in municipium S(…?). Scholars have frequently identified this name with Splonum mentioned by Cassius Dio (Dio. 56. 11, 2). However, this paper emphasizes that Dio’s text suggests that Splonum should be located in western Bosnia. When it comes to the territory of the upper course of the Drina river, there are no inscriptions mentioning decurions, duumviri or aediles. Namely, Roman villas were mostly commonly found here (villae rusticae, villae sururbanae, villae urbanae). These archaeological findings support the thesis which claims that this territory was part of municipium S(…?), that was the closest to it geographically.

Assessment of Dutch tomato hybrids grown in conditions of Western Bosnia and Herzegovina

Assessment of Dutch tomato hybrids grown in conditions of Western Bosnia and Herzegovina

NEOBISIUM RADJAI N. SP. (NEOBISIIDAE: PSEUDOSCORPIONES), A NEW CAVE-DWELLING PSEUDOSCORPION FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

A new cavernicolous pseudoscorpion species, Neobisium radjai n. sp., from the Golubanјka pećina Cave, village of Srđevići, near Livno, Hercegbosanska županija county, western Bosnia and Herzegovina, is described and compared to its close congeners. The newly erected taxon represents an endemic and a relict form.

Syrmian front: From its establishment to the breakthrough

World War II in Yugoslavia (from 5 April 1941 to 9/15 May 1945) saw a large number of bloody battles, massacres of civilians and prisoners of war (especially of the captured members of partisan units), bombings, and other tragic and painful events. Fighting on the Syrmian Front (from 10 November 1944 to 11 April 1945) and fighting for its breakthrough (11-13 April 1945) certainly were some of the most difficult battles and tragic events. This paper presents events and battles that led to the breakthrough of the Syrmian Front, which resulted in the final liberation of the present-day Republic of Serbia’s territory from the occupying and collaborationist forces. Also, the breakthrough of this front enabled the partisan units to mount the final offensive towards the west and liberate the remaining parts of Yugoslavia, which were still held under occupation. Those were half of Bosnia and Herzegovina (central, northern and western Bosnia, except for the southeastern parts of western Bosnia which had earlier been liberated), Croatia and Slavonia (without Dalmatia, which had earlier been liberated), and Slovenia. Apart from these, liberated were also the South Slavic ethnic areas that until then had been under the rule of Italy – Julian Alps area in the west of the present-day Republic of Slovenia, Istria, which today is divided between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia, and Trieste, which now belongs to the Republic of Italy. In this big surge after the breakthrough of Syrmian Front, the partisan troops entered into today’s Republic of Austria, where they reached the town of Klagenfurt (Celovec). On 15 May 1945, in the village of Zidani Most, near the Slovenian town of Lasko, Colonel General Alexander von Lohr, the commander of the German Army Group E, signed the capitulation of the German forces, which finally ended the fighting in Yugoslavia in World War II.

Japage: udornice na Kupreškem polju, Bosna in Hercegovina

Kupreško polje se nahaja na dinarskem krasu v zahodni Bosni in Hercegovini. V bližini severovzhodnega roba polja leži skupina udornic, ki se imenujejo japage. Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da je razporeditev te skupine udornic pogojena s kamninsko sestavo, ki je vplivala na razvoj jamskega sistema, ki spodkopava material pod udornicami. Prisotnost spodkopavanja in prav tako površinske rečne akumulacije sta bistveno vplivala na oblikovanost dnov udornic.

Proposal for Serbian Tourism Destinations Marketing Campaign / Predlog Za Marketinšku Kampanju Srpskih Turističkih Destinacija

Abstract Serbia is geographically located in Europe, which is why it faces stiff competition from other European destinations, but also from other destinations worldwide. In order to understand contemporary competitive environment, major trends have been identified at the global, regional and local level. The data from the analysis of Serbian summer season tourism market were used to create tourist profiles for 4 supply side regions (Domestic-Serbia; Western Balkans-Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia; Central-Eastern Europe-Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania; Western Europe and the rest of the world), for 5 major Serbian destinations (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Zlatibor, Kopaonik) and for 7 types of tourists according to their core motivation for travelling (pleasure, fun & entertainment, nature, culture, sport & adventure, health, and business). Based on the given tourist profiles, separate marketing campaign scenarios were created for each of the market segments.

Comparison of structure, regeneration and dead wood in virgin forest remnant and managed forest on Grmeč Mountain in Western Bosnia

This paper compares the forest structure, regeneration and distribution of dead wood in a virgin forest remnant and a close-to-nature managed beech–conifer mixture situated on Grmeč Mountain in Western Bosnia. The investigations were carried out in a 1 ha permanent sample plot and 35 circular plots (20 m radius) in the virgin forest and in 17 circular plots (25 m radius) in managed forests. The number of trees in the managed forest was significantly (p = 0.05) higher than that in virgin forest and the distribution of the number of trees per diameter classes had a decreasing trend, but with a different shape in the virgin forest compared to the managed stands. In the lower diameter classes, the stock volume recorded in virgin forest was half of that in the managed forest, whilst for higher diameter classes the cumulated volume of the growing stock was almost double in virgin forest. The young crops had a significantly lower presence in the virgin forest and a larger volume of dead wood was identified in the virgin forest than in managed stands. The study results are important in assessing the consequences of close-to-nature management on the forest structure and regeneration when compared to the condition in virgin forests.

Trace elements in soils and food chains of the Balkan region

The present review summarizes the available data on the concentration of trace elements (TEs) in soils and their availability to plants with a view to reflect the quality and safety of food and fodder crops. Most soils in western Balkan countries are not contaminated. However, soils around industrial centers and historical mining sites do create concern for food and feed safety. Also high concentrations of TEs are related to their geochemical original. For example, ultrabasic rocks and serpentinites in western Serbia and western Bosnia are very rich in chromium, nickel, magnesium, iron (Fe), and cobalt, and cover an area of 5200 km2. High TE concentrations caused by anthropogenic activities are also reported. In vineyard soils in Croatia, concentrations of cadmium, copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) were much higher than their background concentrations. On the other hand, TE deficiency in plants is also prevalent in the regions. For example, Zn and Fe deficiencies in eastern parts of Croatia and northern parts of Serbia, Cu deficiency in pasture and sheep's blood at Nisici Plateau of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and selenium (Se) deficiency almost in the whole region have been observed. Therefore, information on TEs' behavior and soil factors affecting their mobility and availability is highly needed in order to separate the areas of contamination and then propose agrotechnical measures to protect the entry of TEs into the food chain. Research is also required to assess the influence of agronomic management on TE supply to plants and for achieving a better utilization of essential TEs. Concentrations of Se in wheat in Serbia are so low that if people were fed exclusively with wheat, their daily requirements for Se would not be met. There is also a need for full implementation of new food safety regulations in the Balkan countries in accordance with the legislations of the European Union.