Suva Planina

P1P5

Suva Planina with Trem and Sokolov Kamen (right ) in winter

Suva Planina ( Serbian Cyrillic Сува планина ) is a mountain in southeastern Serbia. The formed during the orogeny alpidic Mountains is one of the Carpatho - Balkaniden and is the highest mountain of this range in the east of Serbia dar.

From the members of the community Babusnica village Ljuberadja the mountains extends in two directions: toward the north to Bela Palanka and to the northwest, to Niska Banja, a suburb of Niš. The name of the mountain, the "dry hill" is due to the fact that the sources in the higher elevations of the mountains are very rare. The highest peak of Suva Planina is the Trem with a height of 1810 meters. Other important peaks are Dordina CuKa (1734 m), Golemo Strážiště (1713 m), Litica (1683 m), Sokolov Kamen ( 1,555 m ) and Golemi Vrh (1535 m).

The mountain is composed mainly of limestone and dolomite, on the south side can also be found during the early Miocene deposited lake sediments, conglomerates and sandstone. In the Suva Planina has a continental mountain climate and the area is considered in the summer as one of the hottest in Serbia. In the past, suffered from overgrazing by goats, but this has not affected the diversity of tertiary and glacial relics.

Flora and Fauna

The predominant habitat types are old mixed forest and wild or hardly cultivated, plant-rich meadows on limestone soils. In this area, 25 different plant communities and plant species were counted in 1261, 128 of which are endemic. A well-known and striking steno- endemic species that is only found on the Suva Planina is the Pančić Columbine. This bi-color Columbine is restricted to limestone rocks of the upper montane zone of Suva Planina and enjoys due to its narrow occurrence in Serbia the status of a Red List Art

The knowledge of the fauna of this area is assessed as satisfactory. There 25 different mammal species were recorded, including vole, West blind mouse, wood mouse and tree sleeper. Among the 139 birds are proven vulture, the eagle, the golden eagle and peregrine falcon. In addition, 86 different butterfly species were recorded, including Festoon and Clouded Apollo, which in Serbia particular importance is attached to.

Thanks to a substantial fall in the number of goats, the intensity of grazing in most places is now low. The biggest impact of man is now the wood industry. The area has the status of a conservation area ( Rezervata prirode ), it is considered a natural geological heritage of Serbia, also as ornithological important area.