Evaluation of ecophysiological and genetic plant diversity in forest ecosystems

The project proceeds from the assumption that the autochthonous forest flora and vegetation of the Balkan Peninsula contains populations whose presence, specific genetic structure, chemical composition, physiological, morphological and reproductive characteristics reveal the history of the vegetation and allow a better understanding of the adaptive potential of local populations to survive in adverse environmental conditions. The project aims to: (1) discover the genetic structure, chemical composition, physiological characteristics, morphological characteristics and reproductive potential of forest flora representatives in the most protected parts of the system (refugia, gorges, canyon valleys and mountain massifs) and the most vulnerable parts of the system (forests belt edges), (2) better understand the adaptive potential of small local populations to survive in adverse environmental conditions and (3) discover the course of migration in the distant past and predict it in the near future. The results expected from the research of relict, endemic, endangered, economically important (or potentially important) forest species of our part of the Balkan Peninsula should provide a stable scientific basis for the conservation of biodiversity and directly support the implementation of international commitments on the protection of the biodiversity of forest ecosystems and endangered species. That would make them not only locally, but globally important as well.