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The paper presents and discusses the landslide research procedure related to the topography before and after its occurrence, using the comparative analysis of two medium-resolution digital terrain models. The case study is the Jovac mega-landslide—the largest landslide to occur in Serbia in the last 100 years, active for three days in February 1977. The indicators used to determine the volume and movement mechanism were the spatial distribution of elevation differences within the two digital terrain models (DTM), and the analysis of geomorphological features before the landslide. The obtained elevation differences allowed the definition of the approximate landslide volume: 11.6 × 106 m3. All the data obtained indicate that the movement mechanism falls into the category of earthflow.

PurposeDuring the pandemic, two types of fear were identified that occur significantly in all groups or profiles of people. The aim of this paper is to determine which of the two types of fears exist in certain psychological groups, and which of the fears strongly influence the decision to travel.Design/methodology/approachThe VALS 2 method and standardized questionnaire were used for the segmentation of the tourist market or for the determination of the psychographic profiles of the consumers, and three additional questions were joined to it as they were vital for the research of the type of fear and its impact on the decision for traveling. When the reliability of the questionnaire and the validity of the sample were determined, the data were further processed using a computer program package IMB AMOS SPSS 21.00, and then, based on the theoretical suppositions and hypotheses, the SEM structural model was created.FindingsThe paper indicates the existence of established types of fears in humans, when it comes to pandemics and similar crisis situations. People are most afraid of infection during travel, and lack of funds and job loss during the critical period of the pandemic. The research conducted confirms that all groups of people, who are determined by the psychological technique VALS 2, react with a certain dose of fear and make decisions under the pressure of fears.Research limitations/implicationsThe research had limitations in terms of contact with people and conducting live surveys. The measures during the pandemic, which were carried out by the state, included social distance and limited movement of people.Practical implicationsThe work can contribute to the community, along with similar research. The results of the research will be available, and it will be possible to see the behavior of people during crisis situations, and the impact of fears on making decisions, both travel decisions and decisions related to other areas of life.Originality/valueThe paper provides research results on a large sample of respondents, and can serve as a basis for further research in the field of tourism, psychology and similar fields. It is crucial to consider the type of fears, and the strength of the impact of these fears on the decision to travel, during crisis situations.

As one of the oldest documented mines in Europe, Rudna Glava should be at the very top when it comes to geotourist visits in Serbia and the Balkans. The research goal is to point out the possibilities of geotourism development in this part of Serbia, while the findings aim to identify the existing problems for geotourism development in the area. Тhe study will analyze the geotourism potential of this archaeological site by using the Geosite Assessment Model (GAM), combining the main and additional values. The GAM involves grades given by experts and provides a relatively actual image of the geoheritage state based on which it is practicable to plan and enhance the activities for the observed sites. The outcomes showed that the observed site has a high score of the main, and a low score of additional values. This means that the site should be additionally protected, and included in various tourist programs.

The aim of the study was to identify which tour guide's competencies can be predictors of environmentally sustainable behavior of visitors of national parks. Authors gathered answers through questionnaires from 305 visitors of two national parks located in Serbia. The results showed that guide's knowledge and telling stories in an engaging and interesting way were predictors for almost all learning outcomes. Also, guides who are energetic and show that they enjoy doing their job, can arouse visitors' interest in the presented topic, create pleasant memories and serve as a role model for sustainable behavior after the tour ends.

PurposeNovi Sad, as the second largest city in Serbia, is nominated for the European Capital of Culture for 2021. In addition, the city has a rich traditional gastronomic resource base, belonging to over 16 nationalities living in the Vojvodina area (Autonomous Province of Serbia). This study aims to analyze the impact of Instagram, on the choice of catering facility and type of food, and to discover the extent to which it creates confidence to gastronomic consumers and the brand of the product or service.Design/methodology/approachThe study presents a survey, which involves sharing survey questionnaires and gathering information from research participants. The sample of the survey included only the local population during 2019 year, on a random sample of 155 participants.FindingsOf the total number of respondents, the highest percentage of them follow Instagram posts related to gastronomic objects, compared to other social networks. The results of this study undoubtedly show that consumers have great confidence in this social network and that it creates a certain brand and attitude on the basis of which consumers will choose a catering facility or food.Practical implicationsThe process of interviewing people in gastronomy, regarding the impact of social networks on brand, attitude and consumer confidence, can provide an excellent insight into the current situation as well as influence changes that would contribute to better business of restaurant facilities in Serbia.Social implicationsDoing survey research is much more significant in the field of tourism and gastronomy, as these are industries that are primarily the human sector. The personal attitude of the direct users of the services in the restaurant facilities can contribute to the overall picture of the state of gastronomy in this area.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the development of contemporary gastronomy, which is on the rise compared to many other branches of the economy in Serbia. Researching the impact of service providers, through social networks, on consumers is a way of reaching out to learn about the level of service quality and customer satisfaction achieved, as well as creating loyal consumers and better position in the market.

This paper gives an overview of the quality of tourism service in rural areas of the South Bačka District, one of the most economically developed parts of Serbia. The main objective of the research is to determine the correlation between the expected and perceived values of the quality of service by collecting and processing data. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was applied in the study, and all obtained data were analyzed in the SPSS software 23.00. As a result of the survey, it was found that tourists had significantly higher expectations than perceived service. The results obtained can serve for broader thematic research and contribute to the definition of appropriate corrective actions to improve the quality of tourism services in the selected rural area. Moreover, these are the key propositions to start an initiative for the improvement of tourism services in any undeveloped rural setting with a tourism offer. The results provide tourism organizers and local authorities with important visitors’ perpceptions pertaining to the quality of rural tourism service.

© 2020, Geographical Institute "Jovan Cviji" of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. All rights reserved. Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a significant health hazard in the warm part of the year. In order to assess the level of hazard and the effects of UV radiation on the living world, long-term measured or estimated data are needed. In Novi Sad, the measurement of UV radiation has been performed since 2003, while ozone measurements have been made since 2007. However, those data sets are too short for assessing long-term biological effects. Therefore, several techniques for reconstruction of UV radiation doses have been developed. Reconstruction techniques are based on using available ground-based measurements of the meteorological data and satellite measurements of the total ozone column. It is shown that techniques that use ozone data show better performance than those that use only ground-based meteorological measurements. However, the difference between the performances of the methods is smaller when it comes to the monthly values, indicating that the techniques which use only ground-based meteorological measurements are roughly as good as the ozone-based techniques for assessing long-term changes in the surface UV radiation. The statistically significant increasing long term-trend of annual mean erythemal UV doses (ERY) and the decreasing trend in the total ozone column in Novi Sad since 1981 have been noticed. An increase in ERY has been noticed in all the seasons except in autumn and it is the highest in winter. The analysis showed that the increase in the ERY in the period 1981–1996 was mainly caused by the total ozone column, while the increase after 1996 is largely caused by cloudiness.

Employee satisfaction is the main factor achieving high work performance, providing quality services in the tourism sector, which directly affects the increase in productivity and commitment to the organization. The research is focused on determining the factors of job satisfaction and commitment to the institution by the female workforce. The authors conducted a survey in tourism companies in Novi Sad (the second-largest city in Serbia), based on a sample of 610 women in total, using a standardized MSQ questionnaire for job satisfaction, and Meyer and Allen’s organizational commitment scale. Three multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between job satisfaction factors and organizational commitment factors. The results confirm the existence and strength of correlation between satisfaction factors and types of organizational commitment, and the fact that the position of women in the tourism sector is not at an enviable level, and that they remain in the same organization because of the small number of alternatives and moral obligations.

The research analyzes attitudes and habits of the visitors in the National Park (NP) Taganay on South Urals in Russia. The survey method was applied on a sample of 305 respondents in order to investigate visitors’ travel habits, as well as their perceptions regarding different experiences they were exposed to. The results identified a strong positive perception regarding overall experiences from visiting the NP. Specific permanent patterns of behavior were observed and compatibility between visitors’ habits and the environment was determined. The most significant variables affecting perceptions are the frequency of visits and the age. The study has identified certain concerns regarding environmental issues. Respondents were found sensitive to garbage production in public areas and the presence of noise in protected territory. The results of the study provide inputs for solving the long-standing conflict between nature conservation and mass tourism in Russian protected areas.

The long-term exposure to PM 2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) is the leading global health risk factor. The spatio-temporal variability of annual values of the total PM 2.5 concentrations in Serbia is analyzed using the high-resolution (0.01° × 0.01°) gridded data set V4.EU.02 for the period 2001–2016. Population counts and density data were used to calculate the population exposure while the urban land cover data were used to estimate the relations between the size of urban area and the concentration of PM 2.5 . The mean annual values vary in the range 13.93 μg/m 3 –28.91 μg/m 3 . The regional differences exist, but the highest values were obtained for urban environments (> 22.5 μg/m 3 ). Negative trend of annual PM 2.5 is present in most of the parts of the Serbian territory, especially in the eastern parts reaching –0.37 μg/m 3 per year ( p ≤ .05). More than 99% of the territory of Serbia has the mean annual values under the national safe limit established by regulation (25 μm/m 3 ), but comparing to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline (10 μm/m 3 ), all the territory is above the safe level. In line with the trend of urbanization, there is a clear upward trend in the number of population exposed to the higher concentrations of PM 2.5 . The share of the population exposed to values higher than 25 μg/m 3 increased from 6.65% in 2005 to 11.40% in 2015, while comparing to WHO standard, the total population in Serbia is exposed to the values higher than the safe one.

Local marketplaces and street vendors represent an important segment of trade in a community and one of the initiators of the rural and peri-urban development. Agricultural and other products available at marketplaces and street vendors very often originate from a wider urban surrounding or nearby villages, so both are also an important factor of the daily migrations, exchange of goods, services, and money on the relation suburb-downtown and village-town/city. This study aims to analyze the social segments of the organization and operation of marketplaces, to provide an insight into the contemporary market processes and decision-making, and also to illustrate the future tendencies of the market outcomes of this aspect of the business. Using qualitative data processing, the results of one of the first empirical research on this topic in Serbia and this part of Europe will be analyzed. The results will show the economic, social, and cultural impact that marketplaces have on people’s everyday life and the economy of Serbia, along with defining future development guidelines. Besides, the findings of this research may be used by local authorities, the economy, and communities for future strategic development planning of this market segment. The outcomes may have an impact on future research of other aspects of marketplaces depending on the difference of regions, on one side, and also alternative opportunities for local development in less-advantaged communities, on the other side. Moreover, this contributes to the identification of the differences in the marketplace business management and sheds light on future initiatives for the encouragement of this local/global process.

This study is based on the general notion that restaurants should find more responsible solutions to dispose of the large amount of food that is not consumed. Moreover, the food wasted has great environmental, social and financial impacts, and yet this issue is still insufficiently presented in contemporary studies on food waste management. This paper applied the extended theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework to elicit consumers’ behavior concerning food waste. A standard paper and pen survey recorded quantitative data provided by 221 respondents. The findings reported the following: (1) personal attitudes toward food waste positively affect an individual’s intention not to waste food, (2) perceived behavioral control positively affects an individual’s intention not to waste food, (3) the intention not to waste food negatively affects self-reported food waste behavior, (4) negative environmental attitudes negatively affect intention not to waste food, (5) hygiene-based food waste negatively affects perceived behavioral control. This study contributes to understanding consumers’ food waste behavior in restaurants and might have practical implications in the hospitality sector.

The aim of this study is to quantify the intensity of the urban heat island in Belgrade through the seasons. Air temperature observations from 23 meteorological stations in Serbia in the period 1949–2008 were analyzed. Using cluster analysis, we identify the group of stations which the data from the meteorological station Belgrade are the most similar to. It has been shown that, through all the seasons, air temperatures in Belgrade are significantly higher than the average in the wider surroundings. The greatest difference is in winter (1.4 °C), and the smallest is in summer, when it is 0.9 °C. It is greater in fall (1.2 °C) than during spring months, when it is 1.0 °C. Although the contribution of air temperatures in Belgrade to the increase of the average value of air temperature in its cluster is statistically significant, it is without any practical significance.

Rural tourism is often considered to be a factor in the development tendencies of rural space, a factor in the development of agriculture, as well as a factor in reducing rural depopulation. The primary aim of the research was to look at the problems in financing sustainable rural tourism in the case study of Serbia. The secondary one was to analyze the factors that may influence the self-financing capacity of rural tourism service providers. The findings confirmed the main hypothesis that financial resources are a significant limitation of the development of sustainable rural tourism. It was found that there is a high correlation between the amount of income generated and the structure of the workforce. The results verified that rural tourism entities were not making sufficient investments due to lack of financial resources, i.e., adequate financing modalities. It can be concluded thatin order to develop sustainable rural tourism, financial investments are needed, both at the level of service providers and at the macro level.

The study analyses the role and impact of the event "Danube Fair" (Eastern Serbia) in the tourism progress of the less-advantaged border area. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the significance of the role of events in the tourism development of rural settings and the attraction of domestic and foreign visitors with the specific offer of this part of Serbia. The tourism valorization of the event “Danube Fair” was done according to the geographical and economic criteria, and it was determined that it belongs to the category of regional events. In the paper, special attention was paid to the analysis of tourists’ satisfaction with this event as a geographical criterion, especially in dependence with the visitors’ origin, since it is what the positioning of an event on the tourism market depends on, both on the local and on the international level. “Danube Fair” presents the example of a relatively small-scale event, which can become a basis of tourism growth, with proper valorization and affirmation of local products and services, and their introduction to the international tourism market. © 2020 Editura Universitatii din Oradea. All rights reserved. 17-22-07001-ОГН Authors would like to thank Russian Foundation for basic research for the financial support provided within the project No. 17-22-07001-ОГН (Complex algorithm for cultural regeneration of minor industrial cities within the context of agglomeration processes in Russia and Europe).

Cultural assets in the area of the Danube Limes in Serbia are an integral part of the world heritage “Roman Empire Borders”. The research presented in this paper includes the tourist and cartographic visualization of 19 Roman sites in the Danube Limes region of Golubac–Radujevac, to determine the real possibilities of tourism development in this area. The historical and cultural heritage of this area is among the most attractive tourist destinations in Serbia, Djerdap National Park and Djerdap Geopark. Despite its diverse cultural and historical values and the specific and unique natural environment, this area is not sufficiently used for tourism. The research included the evaluation of localities, which may serve as the basis to establish which activities should be undertaken in order to plan, use, preserve, and protect such important cultural assets, under the principles of sustainable tourism development. Information based on spatially referenced data in the research process requires cartographic support, in order to understand the geospatial relations of the site significance. Cartographic visualization enabled efficiently systematized data organization, spatial identification, presentation, and the use of complex information from the mapped area in the data analysis in this paper.

The study analyzes the number of light, moderate and severe spring and autumn frosts and occurrence of the last spring and the first autumn frost in the Pannonian Basin in Serbia, over the period 1961–2010. Only the average number of light and severe spring frosts decreased significantly over the investigated period, while the number of spring and autumn frosts of all intensities decreased at the majority of stations since 1990. Since 1990, the last light and moderate spring frosts have had a tendency to occur earlier, while autumn frosts have shown the tendency to occur later. In the urban station of Belgrade the last spring frosts appeared on average 17 days earlier relative to rural stations, while first autumn frosts appeared 17 days later. The lengthening of the period without light frosts since 1990 was the result of an earlier ending of spring frosts, while the lengthening of the period without moderate and severe frosts is caused by the later start of autumn frosts.

The evolution of daily extreme precipitation from 1966 to 2013 in Vojvodina Region (Serbia) was investigated. We calculated trends of ten precipitation indices and tested their corresponding significances using the Student’s t-test for seven locations. The obtained results suggest that the climate of the northern and central parts of Vojvodina region becomes wetter in terms of precipitation magnitude and frequency, reflecting the characteristic of the central European regime, while the southernmost part of the region is drier, reflecting the characteristic of the Mediterranean regime. In addition, the results indicate an increase in the amount of precipitation in short time intervals. Positive annual trends are strongly influenced by the significant increase of autumn frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation. According to the correlation between extreme precipitation indices and atmospheric teleconnection patterns, it was found that the NAO has the strongest influence on precipitation intensity indices in spring and winter, while during winter it also affects the frequency of dry conditions. The EAWR pattern has a strong influence on the statistically significant positive autumn trends.

Wildfire has been one of the most dangerous environmental stressors nowadays. It is an important disturbance where ecosystem biomass is burned and where organisms are damaged or killed by fire. Therefore, the detecting and monitoring of this stressor are of great importance. During last decades, extensive forest fires have spread in Southern Europe, and they are registered in Serbia as well. During year 2007, several significant fires were registered in Stara Planina and Svrljiske Planine Mountains. The aims of this study were to detect land cover changes for the studied site from 2007–2017, to focus on monitoring the area affected by the wildfire, and to analyse the environment response to stressor. The study area is situated in East Serbia, partially covering the Mountains Stara Planina (western part) and Svrljiske planine (eastern part). The remote sensing techniques were used in the analysis and main satellite data were obtained via USGS Earth Explorer application. Six different classes were selected: Water, Forest, Pastures, Artificial area, Agriculture, and Bare soil. Results showed significant changes in two classes, Forest, and Pastures — the forest spread for more than 20% at the expense of pasture, which decreased more than 23%.

The study analyzes regional differences in the variability of time series of minimum temperatures during the spring and autumn, spatio-temporal variability of the last spring frost date and the fir...

This study investigates the relationship between the quality of hospitality services and sustainable equestrian tourism development in Slovenia. The focus will be on the relations between equestrian tourism motivations, hospitality services quality, overall service quality, equestrian tourists&rsquo, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The target population was equestrian tourists who stayed in one of 30 tourism farms in Slovenia and used both accommodation and food and beverage services. Face-to-face surveys with convenience sampling were used for the data collection. The results show that equestrian tourism motivations are positively associated with both hospitality services quality and the overall service quality in equestrian tourism. Moreover, the overall service quality in equestrian tourism is positively related to equestrian tourists&rsquo, satisfaction, while equestrian tourists&rsquo, satisfaction is positively related to behavioral intentions. In addition, accommodation service quality and food and beverage service quality both mediate the association between equestrian tourism motivation and overall satisfaction. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications. For one thing, it fills the research gaps present in the literature. In addition, it gives practical guidelines to farmers and tourism practitioners regarding equestrian tourism development as one of the popular areas of sustainable tourism development in rural settings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential for restructuring industrial areas toward tourism development within local communities, with a special emphasis on the socio-cultural determinants of residents, as well as their attitudes regarding the sustainable development of tourism. The research is also oriented toward the interests of local communities with respect to entrepreneurial activities in the field of tourism within regions relying on traditional industries, in this case, one of the largest open-pit mining surfaces in Europe (near the Serbian town of Lazarevac). The survey was conducted on a sample of 273 respondents. The research results point to the residents&rsquo, attitudes regarding the acceptability of tourism development options, as well as their attitudes toward tourism development, with the aim of providing the conditions for a successful transition from a typical heavy industrial setting toward sustainable tourism development.

Both environmental control and appropriate measurement results present basis for the quality protection of geospatial elements. Providing environmental monitoring activities and creating control network is the obligation of each state, whereas local communities provide observation and control of air quality, water quality, waste quality, soil quality, vegetation and land cover control, etc. This has been the reason for the analysis of vegetation of the municipality of Jagodina in Serbia. By processing satellite images, data on the sources of pollution and polluting materials of the vegetation have been discovered. These include spot (stationary), linear (mobile and stationary) and surface (stationary and mobile) sources. While processing satellite images by the Idrisi software, we have acquired results that indicate certain vegetation modifications (images obtained through infrared spectral imaging). Results obtained through remote sensing indicate the necessity to define adequate vegetation monitoring, to complete a register of pollutants, to set up information system and define ways of data presentation in order to manage a single, complete register of environmental pollutants in the municipality of Jagodina.

Population changes of the Russians and other Slavs are an important original indicator of demographic, economic, political, and cultural analysis of over 300 million Slavic inhabitants in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. The indicators are conditioned by the large number of people executed in World War I and World War II, significant economic migrations, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. Utilizing data from official reports, the authors proceed to analyze the demographic tendencies in order to find out the relationship between modern demographic trends and political and economic events over the past years. The results showed that economic and demographic stagnation, which favor religious and national (ethnic) ambivalence, influence the strengthening of groups ethnically isolated or religiously differentiated in the observed macroregions of Eurasia. The contemporary challenges of modern society in terms of global politics (e.g. terrorism and migrations) will be more pronounced and turbulent in these areas. For these reasons, the original data represent an important segment of the study of Slavic history, demography, and politics throughout the turbulent 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium.

The paper analyzes the water quality of hydrological resources in the wider area of Tara National Park (NP Tara) in Serbia and the opinions of the local community and the national park visitors about the grade of the possible damage. The pollution level of the Drina River at the Bajina Ba&scaron, ta hydrological station was analyzed using the Water Pollution Index. The results showed that water quality corresponded to classes II (clean water) or III (moderately polluted water) and revealed the presence of organic pollution. In addition, using a survey combined with field research, the perceptions of local inhabitants and national park visitors related to environmental pollution were analyzed. The community believed that tourism does not cause significant damage to the environment. However, the older and more educated groups of residents and visitors had a more critical perception of the environmental impact of tourism. The results also indicated that the perceptions of visitors were mostly in agreement with measured water quality in the Drina River. The findings of this study have important implications for the management of protected areas and future policies related to national parks.

The impact of solar activity on environmental processes is difficult to understand and complex for empirical modeling. This study aimed to establish forecast models of the meteorological conditions in the forest fire areas based on the solar activity parameters applying the neural networks approach. During July and August 2018, severe forest fires simultaneously occurred in the State of California (USA), Portugal, and Greece. Air temperature and humidity data together with solar parameters (integral flux of solar protons, differential electron flux and proton flux, solar wind plasma parameters, and solar radio flux at 10.7 cm data) were used in long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network ensembles. It is found that solar activity mostly affects the humidity for two stations in California and Portugal (an increase in the integral flux of solar protons of &gt, 30 MeV by 10% increases the humidity by 3.25%, 1.65%, and 1.57%, respectively). Furthermore, an increase in air temperature of 10% increases the humidity by 2.55%, 2.01%, and 0.26%, respectively. It is shown that temperature is less sensitive to changes in solar parameters but depends on previous conditions (previous increase of 10% increases the current temperature by 0.75%, 0.34%, and 0.33%, respectively). Humidity in Greece is mostly impacted by solar flux F10.7 cm and previous values of humidity. An increase in these factors by 10% will lead to a decrease in the humidity of 3.89% or an increase of 1.31%, while air temperature mostly depends on ion temperature. If this factor increases by 10%, it will lead to air temperature rising by 0.42%.

The aim of this paper is to examine the spatial and temporal variability of the average monthly, seasonal and annual air temperatures in Serbia. Therefore, data from 64 climatologic stations were analyzed in the period from 1961 to 2010. Based on the data, on the position of the stations (their latitude, longitude, altitude), and the characteristics of the terrain in their vicinity (inclination and terrain exposure in a radius of 10 km around the station), a regression model was constructed based on which air temperatures are interpolated for the territory of Serbia. The rootmean-square error (RMSE) of the regression model ranged from 0.2 oC in January, February and November to 1.1 oC in August. Spatial distribution of air temperatures is shown (maps of mean monthly, mean seasonal and mean annual air temperatures are made), and the Sen's procedure was used to calculate trends of air temperatures (maps of average monthly, mean seasonal and mean annual trends of air temperatures). The Mann-Kendall test was used to test the significance of air temperature trends. Apart from the southeast, the whole territory of Serbia has practically experienced a statistically significant rise in the average annual air temperature, with the highest increase in the summer and winter months.

The research deals with the sustainable development of the Serbian and Slovenian countryside, under the influence of tourism progress. The article identifies the main rural tourism competitiveness in Serbia and Slovenia, as one of the essential factors of rural development in both countries, analyzing the main contributions and making a series of proposals to guide the future research agenda. The aim of the paper is to clarify around one obviously defined objective—to point out the competitiveness of sustainable rural tourism in typical post-socialist settings. The data for this study were collected using the Integrated Model of Destination Competitiveness to observe Serbian and Slovenian competitiveness in tourism. Determinants were assessed using a survey evaluating four demanding factors and 20 supporting factors, based upon a five-point Likert Scale. The results indicated that the friendliness of residents towards visitors, easy communication between them, together with quality of infrastructure and health facilities show the highest level of statistical correlation. These are the main propositions to start an initiative for the authorities in local communities to actively participate in sustainable rural development. The findings provide tourism stakeholders with relevant respondents’ perceptions pertaining to the tourism development in non-urban areas.

This study aims to explore the use of the social-ecological system (SES) in tourism of a mountain area. Authors examined residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts on four SES aspects: ecosystems, local knowledge, people and technology and property rights institutions. The aim is to find area that will be a “common ground” for community and area that can be a source of conflict and will require additional work to solve the differences. Second objective was to examine residents’ perception towards future local development tourism policies (winter tourism, seasonality and environment and culture) and how those policies can affect natural, socio-economic and cultural aspects of mountain area. Residents’ perceptions of sustainable tourism development potential, perceived tourism impacts, analysis of community attachment and employment sector of stakeholder were involved in this study. The authors applied the Q-methodology, as one SES-allied approach, in a small mountain community of Kopaonik, the Republic of Serbia. The results revealed that residents’ agreement/disagreement is connected with two aspects: ecosystem and property rights and that ecosystem can be significantly influenced by all three development policies. Findings suggest that development of future natural conservation plans and new cultural attractions can have positive effects on all parts of social-ecological system. Some practical implications of those findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed.

Forest fires in Portugal (June 17–24, 2017) destroyed 64 lives and caused considerable material damage. The coronal hole CH807 and the energy region S5710 were in the geoeffective position on the Sun immediately before the outbreak of fires. In the period that preceded it, as well as at the time of the fires, increased values of the solar wind (SW) parameters (temperature, speed and density of particles) were recorded. In addition, a geomagnetic disorder was recorded. The shape and size of the burning areas, as well as the low air pressure over Portugal indicate the possibility of the effect of positively charged particles that came from the area south, i.e. southwest of Portugal. Nevertheless, it is a specific case that would have to be investigated in more detail.

The atmosphere is a very sensitive medium to extraterrestrial forces, most importantly, solar electromagnetic radiation and energetic particle intrusion. This released intense solar activity can cause sudden disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere and further create ground telecommunication interferences, blackouts, transportation problems, water supply problems, potential health effects, as well as natural disasters, such as forest fires. These extreme events can cause billions of dollars of damage and impact individuals, families, communities, and societies. For this reason, it is of crucial importance to investigate the connections between this extreme activity and natural disasters, and further develop ways to prevent, prepare against, and respond to them. The aim of this special issue is to engage a wide community of scientists to de-fragment broaden and improve our knowledge in this field. We invite researchers from all relevant fields to publish their recent investigations in this special issue.

The aim of this paper is to find the functional dependence between the occurrence of forest fires and the factors inherent to solar activity. It has been shown that the amplitude of number of forest fires in the USA for warm period 2004-2007 is not time dependent. The method of seasonality indices for seasonal components filter was used for the decomposition of time series. In order to test this hypothesis the correlation analysis was held between the factors Hi and the number of fires taking into account time delay (lag) between the onset of fires and solar activity. The results of this analysis show that any correlation coefficient is not higher than 0.2. For determination of the degree of randomness for time series of input and output parameters, the R/S analysis was conducted. The Hurst index was used for determining the depth of their memory. Based on the proximity of the Hurst index for the 10.7 cm solar flux categories and small forest fires, a reasonable assumption can be made that the dynamics of these time series is heavily dependent on the same factors. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III47007]

The subject of research refers to potential causativeeffective connection between processes on the sun and the largest forest fires in Deliblatska pescara. The four greatest forest fires in Deliblatska pescara in the period 1948-2009 were in 1973, 1990, 1996 and 2007. The analysis of solar activity, especially the solar wind data and the analysis of the fire events were used in the research of the possibility of mutual connection. There are no enough data for the fire that occurred in 1973 on the basis of which the connection with processes on the sun would be determined. The fire from 1990 developed in the conditions of intensive solar activity and it was probably caused by the solar wind. There are some indications that the solar wind from energetic region 7981 caused the largest forest fire in Deliblatska pescara in 1996. For fire that occurred in 2007, the energy source (coronary hole CH279) was determined, as well as the moving of the solar wind particles. During the investigated fires the phenomena characterising fires caused by solar wind were recorded, such as frequent wind direction changes and appearance of fire on different locations at the same time. The statistical analysis of the number of fires in Deliblatska pescara and AMO also indicated the antiphase connection between these events. Even though the obtained results have shown the signal of the connection between charged particles and initial phase of fire, the laboratory testing is necessary to prove the mentioned hypothesis.

Results of previous studies have pointed to a statistically significant relationship between the ionospheric, ie. atmospheric disturbances and earthquakes. Also, numerous previous studies concerning the relationship between the sun's activity and disturbances in the atmosphere have been taken into consideration. Based on these indicators, we tried to determine the possible existence of a causative-effective connection between processes on the sun and the earthquake that occurred on 03 November 2010 near Kraljevo (Serbia). Based on theoretical considerations, a new model is proposed that suggests the occurrence of trigger pulse. The results have shown that at statistically more significant number of samples it would be necessary to determine potential regularity in the changes of the parameters of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), that is solar wind components (SW) a few days before and after the occurrence of strong earthquakes.

The paper explores the link between water temperature of the subtropical part of the Atlantic Ocean (the belt of 25 to 40? N), atmospheric pressure and air temperature in Belgrade and Serbia. The main point of the research is to examine the linkage between the Azores air pressure maximum with the changes of water temperature in the subtropical belt of the Atlantic (given in the net 5x5?). Using the hierarchical cluster analyses, 10 clusters of water temperature of the subtropical part of the Atlantic Ocean were selected. Their linkage between the position and the intensity of the Azores maximum was examined by multiple-linear regression. It was established which of the clusters influenced most the geographical latitude, geographical longitude and the intensity of the Azores maximum, as well as which of the grid cells represented the most significant predictors within each of the clusters. Examining the relation between the position and the intensity of the Azores maximum with the air temperature in Belgrade, i.e. Serbia, it was established that the linkage with the geographical latitude of this action centre was the most significant. .

Considering the significance of discovering the causes of forest fires, the hypothesis on the solar activity is presented (i.e. physical-chemical characteristics of the solar wind) as the possible cause of these natural disasters. The empirical confirmation of the mentioned hypothesis was disabled by the non existence of an adequate data base on the (regional) distribution of the number of fires and burned areas on the level of Serbia. Therefore an emphasis is put on theoretical explanations, but also on the characteristic situations in which there is an agreement between the processes occurring on the Sun and fire phenomena in the area of Serbia and the Balkans. The formations of the corresponding data base would enable the systematic explanation of endangerment of undeveloped areas of Serbia, but also the confirmation of the solar wind-forest fires hypothesis. The directions of the future multidisciplinary research should be directed towards the models for better prevention.

In the presented paper on an annual and (floating) decadal scale, connection between Solar activity (represented with six 'traditional' parameters) and atmospheric circulation (represented with Vangengeim-Girs tipology) is examined. The correlation coefficients on the annual scale varies from 0,017-0,328 and in some cases show statistical significance. On the floating decadal level there is an increase of correlation and statistically significant coefficients varies from 0,271-0,727. By application of multiple linear regression on a floating decadal values, 57-82% of a variance in criterion variables is explained. Because of a high redundancy in Solar activity parameters, for estimation of each regression coefficient ridge regression was applied.

Ljig municipality has a dense hydrographic network, composed mostly of the streams within the Ljig River basin. However, the quantities of water in these streams are relatively small, and characterized by great irregularities during the year. Moreover, in the last ten years of the research period, there has been a noticeable decrease of water quantities. The most significant river in the area is the Ljig River (48.9 km long), which is the largest tributary of the Kolubara River. The spring of the Ljig River is situated within the territory of the municipality, while the length of the stream on this territory is 30.13 km. The most significant tributaries of Ljig are Kacer, together with its tributary Kozeljica, as well as Dragobilj with Dragobiljica (Lalinacka Reka), Zerevac and Godevac. Among all the springs in Ljig municipality, the most important is the karst spring in the village of Ba, which is considered as the main spring of the Ljig River. It is used for water-supply of the town of Ljig and the village Kadina Luka. There are many water-management problems in Ljig municipality. The most prominent are the problems of erosion, gulling streams and floods, water-supply issues, as well as insufficient water-management infrastructure.

In this paper are presented the results of research, considering on air temperature variability in Stara planina area. In southeast part of researched area it is noticed negative trend in the last 50 years of XX century, according to data of IPCC for Southeast Europe. Emphasized air temperature increase in summer period in almost stations is not pointed on dominant influence of anthropogenic greenhouse effect. U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja koji se odnose na kolebanje temperature vazduha u oblasti Stare planine. U jugoistočnom delu proučavanog prostora u poslednjih 50 godina XX veka uočen je negativni trend, shodno podacima IPCC za jugoistočnu Evropu. Naglašen porast temperature vazduha u letnjem delu godine skoro na svim stanicama ne ukazuje na dominantan uticaj antropogenog efekta staklene bašte.

Heliocentric electromagnetic long-term weather forecast represents new methodological approach in studying of weather development. Accomplished results can have exceptional significance for needs of tourism and many other activities. Furthermore, since forecasts made for Belgrade can be tested to any place in the world which has daily meteorological measurements. For example, for all tourist manifestations, which are held in the open application of this method can be of priceless value from economic, i.e. managerial aspect. Every further advancement of the used method in the context of modeling, as well as its practical use in any way, can give significant movement in the area of organizational needs. Contrary to former "classic" long-term weather forecasts (models), which have smaller and smaller reliable possibility with increasing of weather factor to which they are related to, in starting phase it was shown that heliocentric electromagnetic long-term weather forecast has relatively high degree of precision also in the third month. Regarding rainfalls, former electromagnetic long-term forecasts were also characterized by, conditionally said, partial success. Yet it seems that unrealizations that had occurred can not decrease the significance of applicated methods. On the contrary, they only confirm correctness of the basic assumptions, furthermore since moments on which one has to pay special attention have been recognized, in order to achieve even more precise results in the future forecasts. This paper analyzed two cases of long-term forecasts based on heliocentric electromagnetic approach.

According to the satellite observing of solar wind, and as well according the development of certain weather conditions it is realized that their interactive connections could have important role on the development of atmospheric processes. In this paper is given several of such situations. We have tried to point to a very important significance of new methodological approach in understanding development of meteorological conditions. Researching the influence of the solar wind on the changes of conditions in the atmosphere could develop in several ways but in any case for the further steps a multidiscipline approach is needed. Karen Labitske in Germany has done a lot of research in this area. "The physics is still highly speculative at this point though".

Purpose - The aim of the paper was to investigate the major forest fires in Deliblatska peščara, as well as to analyze the efficiency of fire protection measures. Design / methodology / approach - The analysis included interviews with participants in extinguishing the major fires. The questions referred to the course of fires, as well as to the main fire protection disadvantages. The documentation of the “Banat” Forest Management - Pančevo (Public Enterprise “Vojvodinašume”) was also used in the paper for the period 1948-2012. Findings - The major forest fires in Deliblatska peščara in the studied period were recorded in 1973, 1990, 1996 and 2007. Although they account for only about 1.5 % of the total number of fires, they collectively have invaded more than half of the total burnt area and more than two-thirds of the forest area. According to the surveys, the main characteristics of these fires were: frequent appearance of new fire hot spots, strong wind variable in direction which crucially affects the spread of fire and the impossibility of direct action on fire. The main disadvantages of fire protection were: inefficiency of fire breaks, blockage of forest roads for the passage of vehicles and the lack of the modern means of fire protection equipment. Research limitations / implications - Given the specificities of the studied area (the absence of surface water, sandy soils, microclimate conditions and vegetation composition), the research results cannot be fully generalized for Serbia. Practical implications - The research results indicate the need for making changes in the fire prevention system, as well as the possibility of fire danger forecast based on the heliocentric hypothesis. Originality / value - What has been the importance of the paper is that it provides the basis for a new approach to the planning of fire prevention measures. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III47007]

In the presented paper correlation between the northern part of the Atlantic ocean (belt between 50-65°N) and the atmospheric pressure is examined. Connection between the ocean temperature and atmospheric pressure is the most obvious in the El Nino southern oscillation mechanism. Thus, so far it is not known that such a mechanism exist in the Atlantic ocean. The main accent in the presented paper is focused on the connection between Iceland low and the sea surface temperature (SST) in the subpolar part of the Atlantic ocean (used data are in grid 5x5°). By hierarchical cluster analysis five relatively unified clusters of sea surface temperatures grid cells are defined. By multiple linear regression, we examined the correlation between each of the depicted clusters with position and intensity of Iceland low, and identified the most important grid cells inside every cluster. The analysis of the relation between Iceland low and air temperature in Serbia and Belgrade has shown the strongest correlation for the longitude of this centre of action. . U radu je ispitivana veza između temperature vode severnog dela Atlantskog okeana (pojas od 50-65°N) i atmosferskog pritiska. Povezanost okeana i atmosfere se najočiglednije manifestuje u mehanizmu El Ninjo južne oscilacije. Međutim, koliko je poznato, u Atlantskom okeanu ne postoji ekvivalent El Ninja, niti ovako jasno izražena povezanost između temperature okeana i atmosfere. Težište istraživanja je stavljeno na ispitivanje povezanosti Islandskog minimuma sa promenama temperature vode u subpolarnom pojasu Atlantika (datim u mreži 5x5°). Hijerarhijskom klasterskom analizom je izdvojeno pet relativno ujednačenih klastera temperature vode subpolarnog dela Atlantskog okeana. Njihova povezanost sa položajem i intenzitetom Islandskog minimuma ispitana je višestrukom linearnom regresijom. Ustanovljeno je koji od klastera najviše utiče na geografsku širinu, geografsku dužinu i intenzitet Islandskog minimuma i koja od gridnih ćelija u okviru svakog od klastera predstavlja najznačajnije prediktore. Ispitivanjem odnosa između položaja i intenziteta Islandskog minimuma sa temperaturom vazduha u Srbiji i Beogradu, ustanovljeno je da je najsnažnija povezanost sa geografskom dužinom ovog akcionog centra. .

Considering the actual scenario of contemporary global climate changes and their possible influence on forest fires, the connections between temperature changes and precipitations on fires have been examined in Deliblatska pescara. The basic characteristics of fires have been analyzed in the area which is considered the most endangered in Serbia. The decreasing trend of annual number of fires was ascertained for period the 1948-2002. However, the trend of annual temperature and precipitation changes is not in accordance with the trend of annual number of fires. Some seasonal aspects related with the change of climate elements cannot also explain the decreasing number of fires. A rising trend of annual fire spread surface have been ascertained, which is in accordance with air temperature rise at the end of the 20th century. However, five extreme values were far above the upper standard deviation, which was explained by non climate factors (increase of surface under pine trees, mistakes during fire extinguishing and similar).