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The Balkan region is rich in limestone deposits, which have created one of the largest hotspots of subterranean biodiversity. This paper gives an overview of the diversity of subterranean terrestrial arthropods in Resava Cave in eastern Serbia. This cave is protected and has the status of a natural monument. At the same time, it is one of the most visited caves in Serbia and its surroundings. Our study comprises the results of three years of biospeleological investigations of the famous Serbian cave in combination with data from the few available literature sources on the arthropod fauna of the cave. The arthropod samples were collected both manually and with pitfall traps. A total of 107 arthropod species from the four major subphyla were registered in the cave: 66 species of Hexapoda, 27 species of Chelicerata, 11 species of Myriapoda and three species of Crustacea. For four troglobitic, 16 troglophilic and 87 trogloxenic species recorded in the cave, descriptions of their microhabitats and information on their distribution in the cave are given. Considering the medium size of Resava Cave and the lack of permanent water flow in the two main levels on the one hand, and the large number of arthropod species recorded on the other, the cave is relatively rich in hypogean terrestrial arthropod fauna compared to other caves in Serbia that have been biospeleologically studied so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to develop possible scenarios for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Serbia by switching from coal-fired to natural gas-fired electricity generation by the end of 2050. Accordingly, the challenges are to establish scenarios and identify measures that are best suited to all Western Balkan countries. In particular, this paper proposes a number of energy mix scenarios that offer some options for reducing CO2 emissions while maintaining an economic way of consumption. Projections of these reduction scenarios are obtained by combining the Kaya identity with the emission factor method. A simplified methodology based on sensitivity analysis is used as a source of data to estimate the nonstatistical uncertainty limits for the projections of the reduction scenarios. The sensitivity analysis is carried out using historical data from Serbia for the period from 1990 to 2019. In addition, a direct verification of the proposed methodology is performed based on historical data for 2020. The developed scenarios 1 and 2 show that CO2 emissions could be reduced by 10.94% and up to 74.44% from baseline in 1990, respectively. The obtained results are also contrasted with the data available for some other countries with similar experiences. Finally, it is found that the developed scenarios are achievable only at significantly decreased levels of coal-fired electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Montenegro and Serbia are on track to join the EU, followed by other Western Balkan countries. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate these countries' economic integration maturity. The analysis covers the period between 2006 and 2019. The main questions concern the evolution of Western Balkan countries during the last 15 years, the results that have already been achieved, and the weakest points of their potential accession. The paper suggests that, although these countries are about to fulfil the economic criteria, they are not fully prepared to join the EU from an economic perspective as they face significant challenges in terms of integration maturity. To endorse this suggestion, the paper forms a new composite indicator to provide a comprehensive understanding of the recent development of these countries' functioning market economy, competitiveness, macroeconomic stability, convergence, and financing ability. Results can contribute to the integration theory and enlargement decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's civilization finds itself facing existential problems in the survival of life on planet Earth. The aim of this paper is to point out the importance of food production from the moment when humans became hunter-gatherers until today, when there is talk about food security from the aspect of providing sufficient amounts of food for present and future generations. The paper presents the production of food in Serbia since the arrival of Slavic tribes on the Balkan Peninsula up to modern times. The paper also points to the historical development of food production and the necessity for socially responsible behaviour to preserve the resources we have for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking about the legal regulation of the taxi services market in countries and cities around the world never stops. The emergence and use of internet platforms in the organization of passenger transport in large cities has led to the fact that anyone can find themselves in the role of a person who performs transport. Thus, taxi transport gained direct competitors, because it is clear that these two transport markets are largely substitutes. However, the existing, strict regulation of the taxi market does not recognize internet platforms and as such, prevents their functioning. The introduction of internet platforms in the transport system and their functioning in full capacity, as their creators imagined, means the previous abolition of numerous market restrictions on the taxi market, ie. liberalization. On the other hand, the existing market restrictions on the taxi market conflict with the liberal economic concept, present primarily in the European Union, but also in the Balkan countries. This is another reason why deregulation of this market can be expected. The paper presents the characteristics of this market and identifies the most important issues of the current legislation of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that could be disputable in the process of possible deregulation. The direction in which changes in national legislation will go can be seen to some extent by analyzing the current legal framework of the European Union and the case law of the Court of Justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thufur (earth hummocks) are small periglacial landforms typical for subpolar latitudes, as well as for the high alpine areas at lower latitudes. Their presence in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula was spotted during the mid-20th century. In this paper we analyze morphometry and morphology of thufur in the context of physio-geographical conditions for their formation. The main aims are to inventorize the thufur in the study area and to determine the physio-geographical factors which enabled their formation at non-zonal elevations. Statistical analysis was performed on the sample of 305 thufur mapped in the field, measuring their circumference, height, and delineating their areas. Classification of the results revealed morphological varieties in terms of horizontal and vertical development. The elevation of the sampling location Ponor is 1,410 m a.s.l., which is considerably lower than the zonal periglaciation in Serbia, at approx. 1,900 m. Therefore, the role of relief as a climate modifier is analyzed in the context of conditions for the azonal development of periglaciation process. Topographical conditions for thufur formation were analyzed through slope inclinations and vertical dissection, determined using the Digital Elevation Model over Europe with 25 m resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this review paper is to present the state of complementary and alternative medicine in the Republic of Serbia and compare it with other developing and developed countries around the world. In most countries of the world, the legalization and integration of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) into the health system went very slowly until the 1970s, when there was an important global change in socioeconomic conditions. WHO estimates that $ 83 billion was spent on traditional medicine in the world market in 2008. Significant variations in financial allocations to CAM across the globe have been observed, however, their direct comparison has been hampered by differences in the definitions and categorization of CAM used, as well as by the use of different currencies in different time periods. The development of CAM in the Balkans, during the 1990s, was hampered by war and transition, and the resolution of CAM was delayed. For the first time, the law regulates the implementation of the CAM in Serbia in 2005 by Article 235 of the Health Care Act. In the Republic of Serbia, evidence of the extent of use of CAM methods is very modest, although worldwide research shows an accelerated upward trend in the use of CAM. This paper is our contribution to the further development and better recognition of CAM methods by both the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia and the professional public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological principles in the process of regionalization and analyzes the criteria used during the designation of the region as a category of special importance in geographical research. Methodological principles of regionalization were applied during the differentiation of the Preševo Valley as an individualized region. The Preševo Valley is a small region in South Serbia with a very favorable geographical position because it is located in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula between the Morava and Vardar valleys. Theoretical and methodological discussion highlights elements of a geographical and socio-economic basis that contribute to a regional-geographical differentiation of the area, as well as those elements that appear as an obstacle in attempts to differentiate this area in regional terms. A critical overview of the use of the name ‘Preševo Valley’ between scientific argumentation and political usage is also given. A survey was carried out to identify the main elements that constitute Preševo Valley’s regional identity. The main results show that this region is characterized by a mostly Albanian population, poor economic development, high migration rates, strategic position, and a strong national consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Balkans, the Serbo-Macedonian Unit (SMU), Serbia, is thrust bounded by the composite Tethyan Vardar Zone and the Carpatho-Balkanides. The SMU actually emerges from beneath the Neoalpine Miocene-Pliocene deposits. Both provenance and geodynamic position of the SMU are poorly known and still debated. This paper reviews the data hitherto published and includes some new field data interpretations. The SMU is composed of a Neoproterozoic-Cambrian high-grade (para- and ortho-) gneiss with peraluminous magmatic arc components (560-470 Ma). The SMU is in the contact with Neoproterozoic upper Ordovician-Carboniferous low-grade metasedimentary succession of an accretionary wedge assembly represented by the Supragetic basement. The SMU basement became folded, sheared and metamorphosed around 490-450 Ma. Paleomagnetic data point to high southern latitudes and a peri-Gondwanan position of the SMU at that time, which concurs with glaciomarine evidence recorded from the upper Ordovician sediments at the base of an accretionary wedge succession. Based on the published data and field survey in the Stalać region, we correlate the SMU with the pre-Mesozoic gneiss terrane exposed in the Strona-Ceneri zone of the Alps. This terrane, identified as the Cenerian orogen of the Alaskan subduction type, developed at an active margin of Gondwana during middle Ordovician times. The SMU basement, with augen and migmatitic gneisses and arc-related peraluminous magmatic bodies, developed at this margin as part of the Cenerian belt or its equivalent. Such an orogenic edifice proved transient and in the earliest Silurian the SMU fragments drifted away being bound for Baltica (amalgamated Moesian microplate and Danubian terrane) to which they became accreted in the Carboniferous and included in the southern European branch of the Variscan orogen (Marginal Dacides/Carpatho-Balkanides). Despite considerable Variscan and Alpine reworking, the pre-Variscan, Cenerian-type crustal assembly along with an inferred boundary between the magmatic arc and the accretionary wedge, accompanied by back-arc/forearc deposits, are still decipherable in the Western Balkan countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The local inhabitants of Pirot County in Eastern Serbia were interviewed about plant's application in veterinary ethnopharmacology. • It was noticed 46 veterinary plants and 206 use reports. • It was found 22 plants not mentioned and 9 plants with different use in neighboring regions. • A good starting point for new phytopharmacological studies. This paper provides essential information on medicinal plant uses in the veterinary ethnopharmacology of Pirot County in Eastern Serbia, known as a relatively isolated, multiethnic, and a traditional agricultural area. The aim of the study was to collect, analyze, and evaluate the medicinal plants' ethnoveterinary knowledge in a Pirot County (2761 km2, total 92,479 inhabitants, of which 34,672 in the rural area). The local inhabitants of the rural area were interviewed by a semi-structured questionnaire to determine how many of them are familiar with the plants' application in veterinary ethnopharmacology. Interviews were conducted in four municipalities of the Pirot County, where the samples of the local rural population included 631 respondents (mean age 50; 45.59% women, 53.41% men) at 144 sites, of which 148 respondents from 92 villages reported the use of plants in veterinary medicine. The data are presented in a tabular manner and include scientific and local names, the part used, pharmaceutical form, therapeutic indication, and mode of administration, followed with several reports. Furthermore, most frequently reported taxa are systemized for each therapeutic group municipality - wise with calculated informant consensus factor. A comparison with previously published data collected from surrounding territories on the Balkan Peninsula was performed by considering the Jaccard index. The survey revealed 192 plants used by the local population for various health indications, of which 46 species were reported for use in veterinary medicine. Plants reported for the treatment of health issues in livestock (206 reports) were distributed in 30 families out of which the main ones being Asteraceae (8 species), Lamiaceae (4 species), Rosaceae (4 species) and the most abundant were Asteraceae (43 reports), Hypericaceae (28 reports), Polygonaceae (26 reports) and Ranunculaceae (23 reports). The most frequently used plants in veterinary ethnopharmacology were Cichorium intybus, Hypericum perforatum, and Rumex patientia. Aerial plant parts were exploited more frequently than underground parts. The mode of administration was primarily oral in the water extract form. The primary reported therapeutic groups were diarrhea (98 reports), wounds (27 reports), dermatological diseases (scabies and pediculosis) (14 reports), and elevated temperature (10 reports). The use of 22 plant species was not reported in other ethnoveterinary surveys in the Balkan Peninsula. Knowledge of plants for veterinary use is still constrained among the population of the rural parts of Pirot County. The study identified plant species used by the local population to deal with health issues in domestic animals. The presented findings of this study can be a good starting point for new phytopharmacological investigations in the veterinary domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domestic mountain horse is an autochthonous breed of horse that originated in the Balkans, which, with the support of the fund for the protection of genetic resources, began to restore the population of this breed, primarily in the area of Stara Planina. Intestinal parasite tests were performed on domestic mountain horses in three separate pastures on Stara Planina. A total of 124 horses from three herds were tested In Izatovac we 44 tested horses, in Boljev Dol 30 and in Borovsko polje 50 horses. All the horses were kept in a semi-free system on mountain pastures - during the day they were in pastures, moving freely in a space of several kilometers around the farm, only to be closed during the night due to the danger of wolves, usually in the same facilities with sheep, goats and cows. The diet was based exclusively on pasture. All horses were clinically healthy, in solid condition, which was at its best in early summer, when the grass was at its most lush. For coprological diagnostics, sedimentation and flotation methods with a saturated solution of NaCl and ZnSO4 were used in parallel. The Clayton-Lane method was used to count parasite eggs. Identification of parasite eggs was done on the basis of morphometric characteristics. Based on the results of the examination, the following parasites were found: Trichostrongylus axei in 66.67%, Strongylus edentatus in 83.33%, and Parascaris equorum.33.33%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bolbelasmus (Bolbelasmus) unicornis (Schrank, 1789) (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae) is a rare and threatened beetle distributed mostly in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. As a species of special conservation significance it is included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitat Directive of the European Union. Several new records of this species documented using light traps and soil sampling were recently reported in Serbia (the central part of the Balkan Peninsula). In this paper we present and discuss the current distribution of this species in the region studied based on GIS occurrence data. The distribution is mapped and values of environmental variables within this beetle's range are quantified using GIS technology. In addition, we predict its potential range in Serbia using a model based on the current distribution of this beetle, environmental variables and distribution of its food source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents 13 species new for Heteroptera fauna of Serbia: Family Miridae: Apolygus rhamnicola (Reuter, 1885), Dichrooscytus intermedius Reuter, 1885; Lygocoris viridis (Fallén, 1807); Euryopicoris nitidus (Meyer-Dür, 1843); Halticus major Wagner 1951; Strongylocoris atrocoeruleus (Fieber, 1864); Megalocoleus naso (Reuter,1879); Orthonotus pseudoponticus Josifov, 1964; Orthonotus syriacus (Puton, 1881); Parapsallus vitellinus (Scholtz, 1847); Psallus (Psallus) varians varians (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1841); family Lygaeidae: Lygaeus simulans Deckert, 1985; family Pentatomidae: Aelia melanota Fieber, 1868. Also presented are the first data on Lygaeus simulans for Montenegro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results presented in this paper point to the need for a revision of the known distribution areas of the species Gammarus balcanicus and Gammarus fossarum, as well as of their contact zones, both on the territory of Serbia and on the Balkan peninsula as a whole. The occurrence of G. fossarum in western Serbia contradicts the assertion that G. balcanicus is the best represented species of this genus in western Serbia and indicates a considerably wider range for G. fossarum. The results presented herein undermine the previously held belief that G. fossarum is only sporadically encountered in Serbia (especially in southern and southeastern Serbia) and indicate that it is the most abundant and most frequently found species in the catchment area of the Southern Morava (southeast Serbia). Moreover, mixed populations of these two amphipods are encountered at the majority of the localities in the Southern Morava. It is here established that the zone of contact between G. balcanicus and G. fossarum is considerably wider than was imagined and in reality stretches into southern and southeastern Serbia: it was previously thought that the contact zone lies between the rivers Morava and Drina in western Serbia and on Mt. Kopaonik in central Serbia. Since G. fossarum is dominant in relation to G. balcanicus in the given region, it can be expected that future finds will further extend the zone of contact between these two vicariant forms to the south and southeast of the Balkan Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]