B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 35. 2004 (Budapest, 2004)

Papp, Beáta, Erzberger, Peter; Sabovljevic, M.: Contributions to the bryophyte flora of Kopaonik Mts (Serbia, Serbia-Montenegro)

THE INVESTIGATED AREA Kopaonik Mts are situated in the central part of the Balkan peninsula (Fig. 1). This mountain range extends in NW-SE direction between 20°35' and 21° 18' N, and42°43' and 43°23' E. It is separated from the surrounding massifs of Rogozina, Golija and Zeljin by the deep river valleys of Ibar, Sitnica, Josanica, Lab, Rasina, Toplica and Morava (Vasovic 1988). On a larger scale, Kopaonik is separated in the south from the Scardo-Pindos by the Kosovo and Metohija depressions, in the east from the Balkan massif by the Morava basin, and in the west from the Dinaric Alps by the valley of the Ibar river. The Kopaonik range is 82 km long and is divided geographically as well as administratively into two parts. (1) Flat Kopaonik is situated in the central and northern part of the mountain range, its highest peaks are Pancic vrh, Gobelja, Karaman and Suvo Rudiste; this part is in Central Serbia. (2) The southern part of Kopaonik, with the peaks of Ostro Koplje and Satorica, belongs to the province of Kosovo. Structurally Kopaonik Mts are a part of the Vardar geotectonic unit of the Rhodopean-Balkan system, but concerning its origin and geology, it belongs to the Inner Dinarids. Kopaonik Mts are very rich geologically. There are three basic rock types: sediments, magmatits and metamorphits. Vasovic (1988) distinguished three main rock formations: schists, limestones and dolomites, and green rocks. All these formations have various subtypes and this makes Kopaonik even more interesting. The geomorphology of Kopaonik Mts has been formed by many endogenic processes such as folding, raising, degradation, magmatic intrusions, volcanic outlet and very often seismic shaking (Vasovic 1988). The highest peak of Kopaonik Mts reaches 2,017 m a.s.l. In the upper region, Kopaonik Mts have many springs, which give rise to many streams and rivulets and create a very dense hydrological network. The main rivers are Samokovska, Josanica, Duboka, Brzecka, and Gobeljska. In the territory of Kopaonik Mts peat bogs of various size are found, usually between 1,500 and 1,800 m a.s.l. There are also three smaller lakes in the upper region. The climate of Kopaonik Mts is continental-montane. It receives much sunshine and in winter a high amount of snow. Due to the high altitude of Kopaonik, six subclimate types can be found, which are characterised by different vegetation. Starting with lower altitudes these are the following: 1. warm temperate climate with sub-Mediterranean influence (Quercion frainetto) 2. temperate climate (Quercion petraeae-cerris)