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The starting point for every viticultural and wine-producing country with respect to local grapevine varieties is their identification, inventory, preservation and development of genetic resources of those varieties. There are currently 224 grapevine varieties cultivated in Serbia for the purpose of commercial production of grapes and wine. Out of that number, 31 wine varieties are local. Vineyards under those varieties can be differentiated by their importance for production of grapes and wine, and by the level of their endangerment, that is, sustainability in conditions caused by climate changes. This paper presents the creation, that is, the modeling of the Method for Vineyard Sustainability Classification (MVSC). The purpose of MVSC classification is: to valorize vineyards with local wine grapevine varieties on grounds of their endangerment and sustainability, based on 20 examined and categorized individual vineyard sustainability parameters; to carry out comprehensive classification into one of the four established vineyard sustainability classes (Class A - very endangered vineyards, Class B - endangered vineyards, Class C - sustainable vineyards and Class D - very sustainable vineyards); spatial identification and presentation of vineyards based on determined vineyard sustainability class through application of GIS technology; and finally, application of Network Analysis (NA), prioritization of examined parameters and, therefore, vineyards. A total of 10,402 vineyards under local grapevine wine varieties were used for modeling, and it was determined that 29 vineyards with the total surface of 1.2 hectares should be classified in Class A, while 2,883 vineyards with the total surface of 158.2 hectares should be classified in Class B. With respect to the strength of 20 individual vineyard sustainability parameters, it was determined that the parameter Structure of the vine rootstock (SVR) has the greatest impact, and priority in selection of vineyards in different sustainability classes should be given to vineyards without rootstocks. In accordance with the scientific justification of obtained results, the MVSC enables comprehensive classification of the potential for sustainability of genetic resources of local grapevine varieties in Serbia, and it can be applied in other countries and wine-growing areas, as well as to other groups of grapevine varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the morphological and dendrometric characteristics of three 97 years old European spruce trees, on Čemernik mountain, in the municipality of Crna Trava, where European spruce is not autochthonous. The examined parameters were compared with 5 test European spruce trees, aged about 50 years, which are grown in the population, within a radius of 100 m, in identical environmental conditions. The results of this study confirm the excellent vitality of hundred-year-old trees at the researched location, which can be brought into direct correlation with the current climate changes. The selected trees have confirmed the best combinatorial ability, which is why they stand out as a good base for selection and production of planting material for establishing purpose culture, afforestation, application in landscape architecture, and also for timber production. The research confirmed that the analyzed hundred-year-old spruce trees are in excellent condition and high decorative value, with a crown formed from the ground, which is why they are proposed for protection as a natural monument of botanical character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in drought in Serbia over recent decades using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The analysis is performed for time series of 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month SPEI indices (SPEI-01, SPEI-03, SPEI-06 and SPEI-12, respectively) calculated using the E -OBS gridded dataset with a horizontal resolution of 0.1° for the period of 1950–2022. In general, it was found that negative SPEI trends prevailed in Serbia for all months and all analyzed SPEI timescales, indicating a more frequent appearance of droughts in recent decades. Moreover, for a large majority of month-timescale combinations, the area with a negative trend was larger than the area with a positive trend. For several reasons, we focused on the SPEI for August. First, the SPEI for this month shows one of the most pronounced negative trends, which is rather consistent over different timescales and consistent in terms of the area over which the trend was found to be significant. Statistically significant negative trends of SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August were found over 11, 17 and 38% of the country area, respectively. To better understand the trends and changes in the SPEI for August, focusing on extreme and severe drought events, an innovative trend analysis (ITA) was applied. It was found that the occurrence of both extreme and severe SPEI drought categories has doubled over the last thirty years in comparison with the previous thirty-year period. Additionally, more frequent transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories were observed through an application of the Markov chain. Second, the special focus on SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August was motivated by the fact that we found a significant correlation between these index values and the annual maize production in Serbia, indicating that the SPEI for August can be useful for the assessment of drought impact on agriculture. To better understand interannual variability and long-term trends, this paper also explores the relations between the SPEI over Serbia and large-scale circulation patterns, together with general global and continental warming trends. Our findings indicate that drought changes over recent decades may be driven by the interplay of long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. In the context of climate change, especially climate projections, Serbia is situated in a region for which climate projections of mean precipitation change demonstrate weak signals and often with conflicting signs of change within multimodel ensembles. From this point of view, our results can be seen as a contribution to a better understanding of changes in extremes, in our case droughts, that can be hidden by inconclusive changes in the mean values. Finally, due to the similar situation in terms of precipitation and drought trends and changes, our results may be relevant for a wider region, and not only for Serbia. • For Serbia negative trends in SPEI index, for different months and timescales, are dominant. • Occurrence of extreme drought categories has doubled over the last decades. • Transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories are more frequent. • These changes are driven by long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to provide an overview of the most important parameters (the occurrence, frequency and magnitude) in Vojvodina Region (North Serbia). Monthly and annual mean precipitation values in the period 1946-2014, for the 12 selected meteorological stations were used. Relevant parameters (precipitation amounts, Angot precipitation index) were used as indicators of rainfall erosivity. Rainfall erosivity index was calculated and classified throughout precipitation susceptibility classes liable of triggering soil erosion. Precipitation trends were obtained and analysed by three different statistical approaches. Results indicate that various susceptibility classes are identified within the observed period, with a higher presence of very severe rainfall erosion in June and July. This study could have implications for mitigation strategies oriented towards reduction of soil erosion by water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has acquired a status of a global issue in the second half of the 20th century, nowadays becoming more and more prominent. The negative effects of climate change as manifested through natural disasters are noticeable the most in forest stands and forest ecosystems. This study covers the period from 2008 to 2017, and the data included was collected from official statistical reports. The data on the following categories was collected: average annual air temperature, average annual precipitation, average annual relative air humidity, the number of disaster events, such as insect activity, plant diseases, wildfires, or climate and geological disasters, causing damage in state forests, and the scope of such damage. The aim of this paper is to analyze the said data and to use the results to determine the influence of observed climatic elements on the incidence of damage, the scope of damage, and the damage per one disaster event in Serbian state forests. This paper is significant because it represents a pioneering attempt to synthesize the influence of temperature, precipitation, and humidity on the incidence and scope of damage in state forests resulting from insect activity, plant diseases, geophysical events, and wildfires in Serbia (excluding the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija). A non-linear dependence of the influence of climate factors on damage incidence and scope has been determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research is the examination of the factors influencing the public perception of climate change and its impact on natural disasters. This paper presents the results of quantitative research regarding testing the central hypothesis where education is the predicting variable of public perception of climate change and its impact on natural disasters. A multivariate regression analysis was used, identifying the extent of the total scores of the main dependent variables (perception of vulnerability to climate change, perception of the climate change impact on natural disasters, knowledge and fear scores) were associated with five demographic and socio-economic variables: gender, age, marital status, education level, and employment status. A series of 208 face-to-face interviews were conducted during the beginning of 2020 on the central squares in the selected cities in Serbia, Belgrade (76.92%) and Sremska Mitrovica (23.08%). The results showed that education level was the most effective predictor of the mentioned research variables. Besides, employment status has been found to affect perceptions of vulnerability, while age affects the perceptions of climate change. Based on the obtained results, policies and strategies to improve people's awareness of climate change must take into account a comprehensive understanding of behavioral dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyzed the influence of future climate change on wind energy potential in the Republic of Serbia. We used climate projections from two regional climate models: the coupled regional climate model Eta Belgrade University-Princeton Ocean Model (EBU-POM) and the Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Model on the B grid (NMMB). First, the daily wind speed at 10 m above ground that was simulated with both models was verified against observed data at 13 meteorological stations in the reference period, 1971–2000. Then, the wind speed at 10 m above ground was bias corrected and extrapolated to 70 m above ground, and the wind energy density was calculated at the same height. Next, the wind speed and wind density energy in a future period, 2071–2100, were calculated and compared with the reference period. Based on the analyzed results, the annual wind speed from the EBU-POM model underestimates the observed values at all stations, while the annual wind speed from NMMB model overestimates the observed values at all stations. In comparison with the reference period, the annual wind speed in the future will decrease in Serbia. These changes are small but statistically significant. On the other hand, analyses for different seasons revealed that seasonal changes in wind speed will be in the range of ± 5% relative to the reference period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Republic of Serbia, education on environmental issues in elementary school is very scarce. Environmental protection theme is part of subject's knowledge of nature and/or society, i.e., biology, chemistry, geography, and physics. Also, awareness on the necessity of environment protection among adults should be improved. Thus, the authors of this paper proposed an educational programs on climate change for adolescents that will indirectly transfer their knowledge on their parents or guardians. The educational program will be provided among elementary school children (1-8 grade). The program will cover climate change issues with the focal point on renewable energy resources. The effect of education will be analyzed throughout the survey before and after the program. The effect will be measured both in children and parents. The result should highlight the improvement in knowledge on climate change and raising awareness on this significant issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have analyzed the time series of daily values for three meteorological elements, two continuous and a discontinuous one, i.e., the maximum and minimum air temperature and the precipitation. The analysis was done based on the observations from seven stations in Serbia from the period 1951-2010. The main aim of this paper was to quantify the complexity of the annual values for the mentioned time series and to calculate the rate of its change. For that purpose, we have used the sample entropy and the Kolmogorov complexity as the measures which can indicate the variability and irregularity of a given time series. Results obtained show that the maximum temperature has increasing trends in the given period which points out a warming, ranged in the interval 1-2 °C. The increasing temperature indicates the higher internal energy of the atmosphere, changing the weather patterns, manifested in the time series. The Kolmogorov complexity of the maximum temperature time series has statistically significant increasing trends, while the sample entropy has increasing but statistically insignificant trend. The trends of complexity measures for the minimum temperature depend on the location. Both complexity measures for the precipitation time series have decreasing trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, the Republic of Serbia ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Like other signatories to the agreement, Serbia is legally obliged to fulfill the agreed goals. By accepting the Strategy and the Law on Climate Change, a strategic and legal framework will be created for starting activities in the field of climate change adaptation in Serbia. Certainly, in order to begin this process, for an efficient implementation of the adaptation Program, it is necessary to establish an appropriate management system and to select the most appropriate planning approaches that will contribute sustainability of the adaptation process itself. In thatsense, the subject of this paper is to look at the basic approaches to adaptation planning and the characteristics of adaptive project management as potentially the most appropriate management model when it comes to adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban plannings and design processes, through land management, are important factors that significantly influence the distribution of urban green lands (UGLs), and thus, the provision of ecosystem services (ESs), thereby providing opportunities for managing climate adaptation processes at the local level. However, planning for UGLs is often secondary to other planning categories, and they often remain underutilized. Through an analysis of Master Plans of major urban centres in Serbia and Bulgaria, this paper discusses the conceptualization of UGLs and the integration of ESs in planning and design processes. Based on findings obtained through an Analytical Hierarchy Process, this paper develops a conceptual framework for linking ESs with different UGL types in the course of urban planning, in order to achieve a better application of UGLs in strategies for the amelioration of micro-climatic conditions in urban areas. This paper proposes framework for an ecosystem sensitive conceptualization of UGLs in planning and design process, where UGL typology should replace functional categories, and spatial indicators are defined in relation to UGL types. Such an approach can improve the understanding and ES-sensitive application of UGLs in planning processes and local adaptation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Owing to the complex tectonic and plutonic activities and consequently complexgeological structure, Serbia is a country of great geothermal potential. The areas of Central Serbiaare the most promising in terms of its use, in which the Neogene magmatic activity was recorded, and Vojvodina, which belongs to the European geothermal zone and where the density ofgeothermal flow is at its highest (> 100mW/m²). However, this important renewable resource isnot adequately recognized and is least used of all the existing ones. Existing active springs andwells are used mainly for non-energy consumption, balneological, sporting and recreationalpurposes. The paper presents the areas of the greatest geothermal potential with individuallocalities, and the current status of application by type of use. Also, some initiated projects andresearch have been mentioned, which need substantial financial resources, but the implementationwould bring energy independence and contribute to the struggle against climate change. Ifproperly used, with the complex and extensive research, geothermal energy could become one ofthe major energy sources in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents results of the research in wood fuels consumption for household needs in Serbia. Research was performed during the period from October 2010 until April 2011, i. e. in the period of heating season in order to get the ac-tual situation regarding the presence of certain fuel types in the consumption of households with special highlight on types and amounts of wood fuels. For this purpose, an adequate methodological concept was defined with the aim to pri-marily get relevant and reliable data on wood fuels consumption and afterwards, by using FAO WISDOM methodology and adequate GIS software packages to perform their analysis, mapping, and graphic representation. One of the most significant elements of the adopted methodological concept was field research-questionnaire of households which was conducted on the sample of 36.946 households out of which 20.725 urban and 16.221 rural in 22 municipalities in Serbia, which was 1.46% of the total number of households in Serbia. Results of the survey showed that 23.2% of the total number of households in Serbia used district heating system (based on conventional fossil fuels as dominant), 25.3% used electricity, and 10.6% used gas for heating purposes. Most households (40.9%) used solid fuels such as fuelwood, coal, briquettes, pellets, agricultural residues and combinations of solid and other fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll plazas are places on the road network where increased emissions of exhaust gases occur due to changes in vehicle driving regime in their corresponding impact areas. Therefore, they provide a great potential in terms of the ability to significantly reduce the emission of pollutants by using advanced technologies. In light of this, this paper aims at getting the most accurate quantification of pollutant emission (CO, CO2, HC and NOx) for the various vehicle categories which use Manuel System (MS), Electronic toll collection (ETC) with mechanical barriers and Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system, for determining ecological benefits that can be achieved using advanced tolling systems. The measurement of the emission of harmful gases was carried out in real field conditions for the five most common classes of passenger cars, light truck and semi-trailer-truck. Vehicle speed, fuel consumption and emission of pollutants were recorded every second, in various driving processes in the impact areas of toll plazas, as well as in numerous scenarios that involve a different number of vehicles in a queue. The obtained results show that the use of the MLFF system, compared to the MS, can achieve a reduction in CO2 in the range of 25%–45% and the reduction in NOx in the range of 32%–98%, depending on the type of vehicle and the considered scenario. The case study of the tolling system in the Republic of Serbia, on a sample of 77,408,112 vehicles, has shown that moving from the existing to an advanced MLFF tolling system allows for annual ecological benefits ranging from 1,349,862 € to 1,491,391 €. • Field research of car and truck pollutant emission using different toll systems. • Determination of emission of different driving modes for the tested toll systems. • Significant ecological benefits achieved by the advanced toll system implementation. • Contribution to reduction of greenhouse gases, global warming and climate change. • Ecological benefits quantified through the Case Study of the Republic of Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]